


The Lion's Den

by orphan_account



Series: The Lion's Den [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Cussing, Drinking, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Making Out, Porn With Plot, Sexual Content, Sugar Baby!Tsukishima, Sugar Daddy!Kuroo, Swearing, minor Oikawa/Iwaizumi side arc, there's very little college in this college au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 20:29:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 122,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9459269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tsukishima Kei is a broke college student, who is at the point in his life where he will do anything for money. One day he overhears some classmates talking about an interesting website that guarantees it can make him a lot of money. With no other option he decides to give it a try, without fully realizing what it is exactly this website does.





	1. Application

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this idea sitting in my head for about a month now, and finally decided to start working on it. I'm going to try my best to alternate updating this story with the other Kurotsuki story I'm working on. Also this story will have a lot more sex content than the other one haha.
> 
> [Art](http://foxyenaarts.tumblr.com/post/165785155475/collab-with-tettsuroo-of-their-fic-a-sweet-treat) by [Foxyena](http://www.foxyenaarts.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [Read the BokuAka Prequel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10780788)  
> [Read the KuroTsuki One Year Anniversary One shot](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11445765)   
> [Tsukki's Birthday One Shot](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11957907)
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://tettsuroo.tumblr.com)

The Lion’s Den.

Tsukishima Kei quietly hovered the curser of his mouse on his crappy, old, beat-up laptop over the words ‘send application’. The screen was dimly lit from being so old, but it felt like even the words on the screen were screaming out at him, nagging him to do it. He even had to scowl at his slight reflection that became visible in the screen, he felt so pathetic right now. Had it really come to this?

He was, or still is, a struggling college student, someone who was warned beforehand that by all of his family and friends that college was hard, but never really understood it until now. Though, it was like that for everyone. What’s that saying? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer (but still get more financial benefits), and the middle class stay the same, struggling. Tsukishima was in the ladder. A struggling college kid with above average grades at best, his family was supportive, but with little to no money to offer for this kind of situation. His older brother warned him about that, but Tsukishima being the stubborn kind of person that he is, didn’t listen. 

‘It’s only money’ he remembered thinking to himself, ‘how hard can it be to get a job as a student?’ Answer: really hard.

And that is what brought a good student like Tsukishima to the place, or website, known as ‘The Lion’s Den’. 

Does anybody ever really expect their life will turn out the way it does? Tsukishima imagined he would be the top of his class, with a decent job, and maybe an internship lined up for the summer by this point, but things never work out like we imagine.

He put in application after application at the local restaurants and stores, but he soon learned unless you knew one of the managers there, you were pretty much useless. He was struggling to pay for his meals every week in his dingy, square box apartment, pretty much living off of only ramen, and trying to type papers and reports on this computer? Unimaginable. He needed money, and he needed it fast.

A few weeks ago, in his AP Lit class, Tsukishima remembered the chit-chat of a few of the students behind him as they waited for the professor to show up, one of the girls in the conversation mentioned that she heard a rumor about a website called ‘The Lion’s Den’, she said it was basically like a dating website, they match you with someone who fits your interests, but instead of meeting your ‘soul mate’, you do things in return for money. Tsukishima’s mind immediately thought the worst, sex, a form of prostitution or something. Tsukishima remembered one of the other people in that conversation mentioned that it was risky business, but that it paid well, so well in fact, that it could easily pay off student loans and then some, depending on whomever it matched you up with. And that was that, Tsukishima was sold. Money from sex is still money after all, how bad could it be?

And that is what brought this string of events to Tsukishima staring at his laptop at two in the morning, trying to get the nerve to hit the ‘send’ button. It wasn’t like he was nervous or anything, right? Tsukishima wasn’t a virgin, he can think a one-night-stand he had last year for taking that away from him, but hooking up with someone over the internet and meeting for a good fuck, it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing most people are gung-ho about. It was just sex, right? 

Somehow Tsukishima still had his doubts. Looking at the layout of the website, it was clear who their main clientele was, the rich. 

The entire layout was pure white, making every little screen crack in Tsukishima’s old laptop that much more noticeable. At the top of the page it had ‘The Lion’s Den’ written in bold, almost girlish handwritten black font, with no real options to choose from on the screen other than ‘submit application’ or ‘contact’. It didn’t even have an option to log in or anything, the rest of the website was just white, no banners, no ads, no anything but those few clickable options. How did this even work?

But the need to have some money was almost too great of a thing for Tsukishima to ignore, so he had no choice.

The ‘application’ was different, almost like a job application to work for some reputable company. It first asked the basic things, name, age, gender, what gender you’re interested in, location, every other thing you would find on a generic application to anywhere, but then, it got more personal, almost like it took a darker turn. Those normal questions turned into ones that almost made Tsukishima feel uncomfortable. ‘Favorite sex position?’ ‘Top or bottom?’ ‘Safe word?’ ‘Virgin?’ ‘One person or multiple?’ ‘How far are you willing to go?’ Go for what? Well, given the context of the previous questions, Tsukishima had a pretty good idea. 

After that there was even a section to include a photo, one of the full body and one of a close-up. He was already this far, so why stop now? Tsukishima wasn’t really one for taking selfies, so he pulled out his phone and converted his most recent pictures to his shitty laptop, hoping one of them would be useable, and sure enough, they were. They were both a few months old, and he had to crop some other people out of the picture, but they still worked, no problem.

The pictures he used were ones his childhood best friend, Yamaguchi snapped of them together when they went out to get some pizza after classes a few months’ back, Tsukishima wasn’t one for pictures, but Yamaguchi insisted. It wasn’t like Tsukishima considered himself to be attractive, so what point was there in even including a picture? Well, he guessed it was basic profile, people probably want to know what and who they’re signing up for. Ugh, he felt so gross right now, hoping that his family never finds out what he’s about to do.  
Application submitted.

The website brought him back to a screen that was pure white, nothing but more words written in that same girly font. Maybe he’ll get lucky and it won’t match him up with anyone. All the website really had was his name, age, face, and email, everything else was just a bunch of useless sex questions, so why was he so nervous right now? Maybe it was just the rush of stooping to this level for money that made this seem so much more agonizing. 

“I can’t believe I just did that.” Tsukishima sighed to himself, turning off his crappy laptop, which served as the only light in his room, making everything in his single room apartment look dark, except for the feint light coming from his alarm clock next to his bed, the time read 2:41. It was late and Tsukishima knew he needed sleep.

“Maybe going to a school in Tokyo wasn’t such a good idea.” He muttered, walking the few foot walk from his small desk to his bed. 

That was one of the biggest upsides (or downsides depending on how you considered it) about this single room apartments, everything was right there. There was less than a ten-foot walk from the bed to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the bathroom, and from the bathroom to the living room. But to compensate for that, the room felt like a broom closet once you got all of your stuff moved in. even the small open space between Tsukishima’s bed, night stand, and wall was enough to make anyone feel a little claustrophobic. 

He took his black glasses off of his face and set them on his night stand, rolling over so he could face the wall. A small amount of light peered through the blinds from the window on the wall next to the bed, but not enough to where your eyes could make out anything visible. He could see if he had to walk his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and that was it. By this point, he was just walking from memory, his place felt like it was cluttered with furniture anyway, so he just basically felt his way around to his bed.

If you take his bed, night stand, desk, and the other basic things that came with apartment (couch, refrigerator, and cabinets for the kitchen) there was barely any room to put anything else in this place as it was. ‘Maybe this will all work out, maybe I’ll get someone who just wants to give away all of his wealth. Wait, his?’ Tsukishima thought to himself, realizing that he was only half paying attention to what he was filling out on that ‘application’. 

‘Well, not that it really matters.’ Tsukishima thought to himself again, staring at the dark room in was in as his rested comfortable against the soft pillow, as least his bed was comfortable. But, Tsukishima’s first time was with a guy, so it only made sense that he marked a guy for the ‘interested in’ question.

‘Maybe I won’t get matched with anybody, that would be nice’. Tsukishima hummed as he tried not to think of this as his desperation, and hopefully he could just chalk it up to another life experience. Though, he still couldn’t shake the uneasiness from the back of his mind.

Tsukishima had always been told by his friends that he was stubborn and hard to get along with at times, being a walking sarcastic smartass didn’t help him much either, so maybe it would end here. What kind of guy, probably in his mid to late twenties, would be interested in a tall, blonde, smartass anyway? Or at least, that’s what Tsukishima thought as he tried to throw the thought from his mind and fall asleep.

 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Ugh.” Tsukishima groaned, rolling out of bed from what felt like the longest sleep he ever had. ‘Why does the morning come too soon?’ He thought to himself as he reached over and slapped the top of his alarm clock, shutting up the thing as it read 8:30 in the morning. It was right on time, like always, waking him up for his morning class that started at nine.  
The sunlight, now perfectly visible in the room, making it much more dull looking than it does during the night time, but making it so much more easier to see as he walked across his room, closing the curtains and pulling a plain shirt and jeans out of the middle drawer in his dresser and threw them on. Today, it was a plain purple shirt with a light blue star design on the back, and some blue jeans that Tsukishima always felt like we slightly too tight for him. Most of the clothes he had were old clothes he wore in high school that he still managed to fit into after a few years, he knew he desperately needed some new clothes. Every month his family would send him a little bit of money, but it quickly went to waste on food and school supplies, so he could never bring himself to buy something like clothes when he could barely afford to eat.

Tsukishima was in a rush, like he was every morning, always determined to sleep until the last possible second, but he still managed to quickly fire up his crappy computer right after he threw his clothes on. He thought to himself that he would probably have to skip breakfast today, just grabbing a pop tart on the way to his classes would have to do. He mainly just turned on his computer to check his email to make sure his classes weren’t cancelled, it was rare, but occasionally a professor would get sick and decide to cancel class last minute. Not that Tsukishima was complaining when that happened, if anything, he wouldn’t mind going back to bed for another hour or two, but if that was going to happen, he would rather know soon than later.

Tsukishima’s eyes perked up when he saw the ‘one new message’ notification pop up in the top right corner of the screen when he logged on to his email, it was like a burst of energy without the morning coffee, and he was already getting prepared to slip back into his sweats and crawl back into bed. That was, until he read the ‘subject’ line.

“Your application with The Lion’s Den.”

“Fuck.” Tsukishima breathed out, placing a hand over his mouth as if he felt bad for suddenly swearing like that, so much for no one taking interest in him. He couldn’t tell if he was surprised or slightly relieved, whatever this feeling was, he felt that uneasiness return to the pit of his stomach.

When he reluctantly hit the ‘open email’ option on his computer, he wasn’t sure if it would be a generic email from the website, or someone actually emailing him to make him an offer. This whole situation started because he was that desperate for money, regardless of whoever it was, it was too late to back out now. 

To Tsukishima’s surprise, it was generic. 

The whole email was like an essay, no strike that, it was like a novel, with a needless recap of Tsukishima’s application, he really didn’t need to be reminded of what he wrote on the sex questions this early in the morning. He placed his hand on his forehead, in a fit of annoyance more than anything else, as he looked back over the clock, 8:40, he still had five or ten minutes before he needed to leave, so he started skipping, getting to the good parts, as some people would say.

“Blah, blah, blah…. We are pleased to inform you that we’ve found a match…” Tsukishima started reading the email out loud, he assumed he did so in an attempt to make it more believable, maybe this guy was someone who was just as desperate as Tsukishima was. “Blah, Blah, Blah…. Kuroo Tetsurou, age twenty-three, likes cats, plays sports, lives on the penthouse on the top floor of the Starlight hotel. Wants to meet at four p.m. today, dress code doesn’t matter, bring everything you own. Huh?” Tsukishima stopped himself from reading, almost falling over in his just as crappy, wooden desk chair. His mind felt like it was moving a million miles a minute, he couldn’t tell what he found more surprising, that someone actually had an interest in him, or the ‘bring everything you own’ line. The email didn’t even talk about the money, well, that probably wasn’t something you would discuss over email anyway, but that was it. No context or anything? What kind of website was ‘The Lion’s Den’?

Attached with the email were two pictures, a full body shot and an up-close one of just the face. Tsukishima assumed this guy was Kuroo Tetsurou. Opening up the files, he had a smug look about him, arrogant, Tsukishima immediately pegged him to be a rich kid, though on a website like this, most people probably were rich. He was attractive, Tsukishima would give him that, from the looks of it, he was slightly shorter than Tsukishima, but had more muscles, broader shoulders, probably works out. The email did say he played sports, so there’s that. The only real notable thing about this ‘Kuroo’ was his almost cat-like grin and look in his eyes, along with his insanely messy dark hair that seemed to break off in several different directions. The term ’bedhead’ came to mind, but did he own a brush? It looked nice though, kind of fluffy, like the kind of hair you want to run your fingers through. Wait, what?

Tsukishima felt his face heat up as he forced himself to quickly close the laptop, making a mental note of the guys address. Maybe it was just the thought of doing something like this sober, and if the two of them had met at a drunken bar, then maybe things wouldn’t quite feel this way, but if Tsukishima hadn’t reminded himself of the money, he might have said no then and there.

‘Deep breaths. Deep breaths.’ Tsukishima repeated over and over again in his head, regaining his composure. He was normally so calm and collected, so why was this freaking him out so much? No, whatever the reason was, he wasn’t backing down now, he needed the money, and this Kuroo Tetsurou guy was going to offer it. What were the rules of this thing exactly, show up, have sex, then get paid, that was it right? Tsukishima felt flustered, he wasn’t exactly sure what this website was even for, the girls talking about this in his class didn’t seem to know either. It was just for paid hook-ups, right? Tsukishima didn’t even know by this point.

He may have seemed impulsive, but when you’re desperate, you’ll do anything, especially when you’re desperate for money. Tsukishima hated how desperate he felt right now, but desperate was how he felt, and by this point, what other choice did he have?

“Kuroo Tetsurou, huh?” Tsukishima thought to himself, looking back at the clock on his night stand, and his school bag by the door, he thought it might be a good idea to ski his classes today, given the way things turned out this morning. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

 

“This is the place?” Tsukishima felt like some anime protagonist, walking up to penthouse door of the Starlight hotel, the biggest and most notable building in the entire area. 

Looking at it from the outside, the place had to be twenty stories high or more, with the words ‘Starlight’ in bold letters at the top of the building. The only thing that Tsukishima even knew about this hotel was that there was a stage on the roof of the building, and that a lot of bands played there from time to time, it looked extravagant though. The windows looked so shiny and clean that you could practically see through them, and the building itself was a bright shade of blue that made it seem to sparkle in the sky. Inside, the interior was just as impressive, marble floors and countertops at the front desk, with exotic furniture that looked like it was probably imported. 

Tsukishima tried not to pay too much attention to it, knowing he already looked and felt out of place somewhere like this. On the email it said that the ‘dress code didn’t matter’, but just showing up in the clothes he planned on wearing to school today, seemed a little too underdressed for a place like this. He had to keep reminding himself that he was only here to meet someone for sex, it would be nice if that website told you up front what kind of services they do. Tsukishima was still bothered by the ‘bring everything you own’ line, though all he managed to do was throw some clothes and a few key items into his school bag, mainly just his laptop and crappy flip phone that could barely make phone calls on it anymore because it was so old.

Tsukishima raised his hand to the door outside of the penthouse, the long elevator ride up there was surprisingly pleasant, and the elevator, hallways, and doors were just as emetic as the lobby was, the door to the penthouse was pure white with gold trim, it almost gave off the feel that someone who was rich and snobby lived here. Was this really the home of the guy who saw Tsukishima’s application on whatever that website does?

“Tsukki, I’ve been expecting you.” Before he could even place his hand on the door to knock, Tsukishima was met with the eyes of someone at the door, he recognized him from the picture, mainly, he recognized his bedhead, Kuroo Tetsurou.

“You must be Kuroo.” Tsukishima tried to act calm and confident, though he was still at a loss for words for what was supposed to be happening right now. Normally, anyone calling him ‘Tsukki’, would have been enough to get them a death sentence, but in a moment like this Tsukishima had no choice but to let it slide, mainly out of his mind being occupied with other things at the moment.

Kuroo did look exactly like he did in his picture though, messy hair that looked ten times worse in person, wearing a black suit that looked like it was custom made, not that Tsukishima had a lot of experience with suits like that. It looked nice, Tsukishima knew next to nothing about this guy, but he was attractive, the way his eyes felt like they were looking through you, it was enough to send a chill down Tsukishima’s spine. Why?

“I must admit, you’re much cuter in person.” Kuroo cooed as he leaned closer, his eyes half lidded as he looked over the blonde. 

Tsukishima was taller than him by most natural means, if they were both standing side by side on the same level they would be, but Kuroo’s penthouse had a step right between the hallway and the doorway, making him taller right now as he leaned down towards Tsukishima.

Tsukishima was trying to process his thoughts once again, now that he was here actually doing it, whatever ‘it’ is, that uneasy feeling only seemed that much more evident. Was he just supposed to start taking off his clothes and making out with this guy, or what? Then again, he might not have minded that, Kuroo was gorgeous, and if he was supposed to be getting paid for this, why not have some fun with it?

It was like Kuroo was able to sense Tsukishima’s uneasiness, leaning forward and planting a kiss on the blonde lips, it almost seemed like it was natural, second nature, one minute they were both standing there just looking at each other, and the next, their lips were touching. If anything, Kuroo was an excellent kisser.

His lips were smooth and passionate, but also forceful, it was the kind of kiss that just demands you give in and let him take control. Tsukishima felt his knees grow weak as he struggled to maintain the hold he had on his bag in his hand, as well as the hold his feet had on the ground.

It was one of those moments where Tsukishima didn’t know what to do, with his hands, his face, his mouth, his everything. This wasn’t too far off from what he expected with coming here, he just kept reminding himself that he needed the money, but he still had so many uncertainty’s. 

Tsukishima felt surprised with himself, surprised at how willingly his own body gave in to the bedhead, he all but leaned into him, letting him slip his tongue inside the bedheads mouth, feeling ashamed at the moaning sound he mumbled out through his teeth when Kuroo bit down on his tongue. Tsukishima didn’t feel this way when he slept with that guy he met at a party that one time, this felt different, he felt hot, like his whole body was on fire and screaming to get out of his clothes.

“Come inside.” Kuroo didn’t say much, maybe he was a man of few words, or maybe he was just the type who didn’t speak much until after the deed was done. 

It was like his entire breath had been knocked out of him, as Tsukishima stepped forward into Kuroo’s penthouse, almost tripping over the step as he tried to forget that feeling of Kuroo’s lips on his. It was just as insane as the rest of the hotel, wooden floors that shined as you looked down on them, designer furniture, top of the line appliances, the main thing that caught his eye was the flat screen that hung on the wall in the living room, pure white walls seemed to compliment the black screen perfectly. From the entrance, you could see the kitchen, living room, dining room, and what looked like a small sitting area with a small bookshelf laid out. It had a very modern and classy feel to it. 

“You must be new to this.” Kuroo spoke softly behind Tsukishima, not giving the blonde enough time to register fully everything that was in the room.

“What even is this?” Tsukishima didn’t mean to say it like that, he was the guest here, the one that was invited, if anything, he didn’t want to come off as rude, though it might have been too late, he still had so many questions, and none of them seemed to be answered yet.

As if he was unfazed by the question, Kuroo laughed, placing a hand on his hip as Tsukishima turned around to meet him. Kuroo was shorter than him now, but still just as attractive as he smirked at the blonde. He seemed almost proud as a smug look appeared on his face, probably from getting to break the news to Tsukishima, from whatever this is. “I’m your sugar daddy now.”

“You’re my what?” Tsukishima blinked, trying to register the words the bedhead just said, but nothing was happening. “I’m sorry, I thought I just heard you say that you were my sugar daddy.” Tsukishima tried to play it off as a joke, it had been a stressful day, he was probably just imagining things.

“You heard right. The Lion’s Den is a website that usually specializes in setting poor college kids up with rich people in their twenties, money for sexual favors, you know the drill. They usually only last a couple months at best, one or more of the people involved usually get tired of it and move on. But you, you’re practically screaming new.” 

Tsukishima couldn’t say it wasn’t what he expected, but he was thinking more along the ‘one and done’, ‘one time consensual sex’ type of things, but a sugar daddy? That name even sounded dirty as he said it to himself.

“So what, we just have sex and you give me money? Is that how this works?” Tsukishima was always pretty snarky, even in a situation like this, one where he should be quiet and learn what was going on, learn what kind of person Kuroo is before spouting his little sarcastic quips, but he couldn’t resist the urge to, maybe it was because he thought Kuroo wouldn’t mind, if a guy is going to pay you who knows how much for sex, he better be prepared for a few questions.

“Oh, you’re a feisty one, I see. I like that.” Kuroo winked at him, taking a step closer so the two of them were face to face. Tsukishima couldn’t figure out why being close to this guy seemed to make the temperature in the room go up, but it did, maybe it was just because Kuroo was attractive. “Not just with money, but now I can provide anything you want, food, a place to stay, even money for school stuff. Whatever you want, just tell me.”

As if a lightbulb in his brain just went off, this explains the ‘bring everything you own’ line from the email. But this how this really worked, sex in exchange for money, living with a man, and getting food and shelter, and on top of that, the guy was attractive, there had to be another catch. Though, Tsukishima still couldn’t bring himself to ask the man, he was right now struggling to suppress the thoughts in the back of his mind to kiss him. Tsukishima noted that Kuroo pouted his lips slowly, as if he was egging him on to kiss him. He had only know for a few minutes now, and Tsukishima already felt himself getting lost in his eyes.

“Well, I have an apartment back near the campus.” Tsukishima’s brain seemed to stop working, all he could think of besides kissing Kuroo were things that made no sense in this situation. Though, living with a guy after he’s technically paying to have sex with you, isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing. Tsukishima had never even slept with another guy more than once before, how was he supposed to do this?

“Oh really? Tell me, Tsukki, is this little dingy campus apartment you have better than my penthouse?” Kuroo seemed provoking, the way he almost cornered Tsukishima into the wall behind him, his eyes looked just as forceful when they kissed earlier.

“Can you please not call me that?” What was that saying? Don’t back an animal into a corner or they might be forced to attack? Or something like that. That’s what Tsukishima felt like, backed into a corner, and forced to go up against the bedhead, though his only method of attacking was his snarky remarks.

It was new for him, not this, but Kuroo’s reaction. Normally, whenever Tsukishima does one of his smartass replies, the other person backs off, it did wonders for him at parties, it was like it was the ultimate ‘leave me alone’ card, but now, Kuroo was giving him a much different reaction. Like he was also an animal ready to attack, he smirked at Tsukishima, like he intrigued, waiting for his next move. Now Tsukishima really didn’t know what to do with himself.

“I can call you Kei, then.” Kuroo smirked again, like it was his only facial expression. 

“No, don’t call me that. How do you even know my first name?” Tsukishima felt himself get angry, a scowl emerged on his face, and he wanted to smack Kuroo for even suggesting that.

“Then I’ll stick with Tsukki. It was on your application, you’re really interesting, Tsukki.” Tsukishima wasn’t sure, but it looked like Kuroo decided that was the optimum time to go in for the kill, so to speak, to go in for another kiss, and that he did.

It was shorter than the first, longer than a peck but shorter than what could have turned into a passionate make out session, but still just as rough and passionate. Tsukishima couldn’t help but drop his bag on the floor, remembering that he had his shitty laptop in there that probably wouldn’t survive a drop like that, oh well. 

As their lips departed, Tsukishima wanted to ask him so many questions. ‘How did you find my application?’ ‘Have you done this before?’ ‘What exactly does our new ‘relationship’ entail?’ And ‘what exactly does a twenty-three year old do to get a place like this?’. Of course, he wasn’t able to ask Kuroo any of that, all he was able to do was slowly catch his breath as he locked eyes with Kuroo. Damn, this man. Out of all the guys that could have seen his application, it had to be one who was attractive, but then, maybe that would be better.

“Don’t you have to get someone turned on in order to have sex with them?” Maybe it was just from being stubborn and refusing to do the whole ‘one-night-stand at college parties’ thing for a while, but Tsukishima felt much hotter than normal, and he could feel himself growing increasingly hard down there.

“I don’t know, you seemed pretty turned on to me when I kissed you.” Kuroo winked again. Tsukishima could already see him loosening his tie with his free hand, his newly exposed neck was beautiful, perfectly smooth skin, you could tell he was a guy who really took care of his appearance, and it made Tsukishima want to instantly leave marks all over it. What?  
“Wouldn’t someone who’s not new to this be more suited for you?” Another thing Tsukishima didn’t mean to say, it just sort of came out. But Kuroo is someone who is rich, attractive, and successful, normally those kinds of people don’t bother with fucking normal college kids.

“Have some self-confidence, Tsukki.” Kuroo rose his voice slightly, as if he was trying to talk some sense into Tsukishima, all while he continued to take off the remainder of his clothes, moving to the first few buttons on his shirt. “I don’t think you’re that normal. I mean, anyone who is willing to go on a site to get hooked up with a sugar daddy to get some money doesn’t strike me as normal, even if you didn’t know exactly what this site did at the time. And as I said, I found you interesting, and cute, oh, and I have a huge thing for legs. And by the looks of it, you have some great ones.” Kuroo removed his other hand, the one that was previously resting on the wall, and gently placed it on Tsukishima’s thigh, rubbing his skin through his jeans. Damn it, why did he decide to wear tight jeans today or all days?

As if the animal inside of Tsukishima snapped with that, or maybe it was all the new sexual tension that Tsukishima was feeling, but he certainly felt different than he didn’t when he walked in here a few moments ago. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “And which way is the bedroom?”

Kuroo smirked again, as if he was pleased with that response as he began tugging Tsukishima in a direction towards a hallway. “This way.”

 

Tsukishima felt like he was being led down a never ending hallway, with walls painted pure white, occasionally being laced with some ‘abstract art’ portrait that looked far too eccentric to make out. Did people actually buy this stuff? They passed several doors, both on his left and right sides, all shut, but Tsukishima imagined they were probably doors leading to various bedrooms and bathrooms. What else would you have at a penthouse?

Kuroo’s hand stung as it led Tsukishima to a room at the end of the hallway, the door to this one seeming much for flamboyant than the others, with a dark gray trim that made it look like some embroidery from the Victorian era. His hand didn’t hurt in the sense that he was gripping it hard, it just stung, like it was on fire, maybe it was just from how hot Tsukishima felt right now, it was blatantly obvious what he was about to do, and his whole body felt far too eager about it, like it was practically itching to run his free hand through Kuroo’s hair, and get him out of the rest of his suit. Why was he having thoughts like this all of a sudden?

How does someone even begin when describing a palace? Because that’s what Kuroo’s room looked like, a palace. It was huge, the size of one of the lecture halls at the university huge. Like everything else in the penthouse, the whole area was drowned in pure white marble, a white fuzzy shag rug laid over top of the white carpet, and a black metal fireplace was on the right wall, the flames briskly dancing as it served as very little color in the room. The room was also decorated with a few other things, the same abstract art paintings hung on the walls, with brown frames filling out the room, looking at them, Tsukishima thought they just looked like a bunch of random shapes, and he couldn’t understand why anyone would buy this sort of thing, to each their own. 

On the left side of the room was a huge windowsill, that itself was probably the size of his crappy college apartment, and the view from looking out of it was remarkable. Penthouses really do have the best view. A few small bright green plants hung off of the wall, they looked freshly watered and their leaves so defined, they had to be imported from somewhere over seas. Tsukishima assumed Kuroo probably had a maid to take care of that for him, he couldn’t imagine how Kuroo had this much money, or how he would manage to keep this place up in the condition that it was in.

Everything else in the room was leading up to the grand finally, and by that, the bed. It was huge, like one of the those fancy, over-the-top beds you would find in one of those ‘tours of celebrity mansions’ shows, complete with white and slightly cream colored bedding, perfectly made and with a few throw pillows on it. A metal frame that matched the fire place was up against the back wall, and above that hung on a giant portrait of a cat? Well, he did mention in the email that he liked cats, it was a good thing that Tsukishima was also quite fond of the furry creatures. On top of that, the whole room smelt like a candle store, and Tsukishima couldn’t decide if that pissed him off or made the room smell that much more inviting, for this instance, he decided it was better to imagine it was the ladder. 

“You don’t mind if I top, right? It’s kind of been a while.” Kuroo seemed much more flirty than he was a few minutes ago, maybe it was just because he was now in his room, or maybe it was something else, but Tsukishima was willing to comply with the bedhead.

“Not at all.” Tsukishima decided to take one from Kuroo’s book, watching the shorter man strip what remained of the rest of his shirt off, throwing the white shirt onto the floor, revealing his muscular torso.

Everything on Kuroo was really well defined, defined abs, defined jawline, even the individual muscles on his arms looked defined to Tsukishima. He thought about asking the guy what he did for a living, but this was not the time nor the place. He could just make up the answer in his head until he learned the truth.

“Like it?” Kuroo looked up at Tsukishima, feeling ashamed that he had been caught staring at every detail over the man’s body, as Kuroo fiddled with the belt loop on his pants. Suddenly Tsukishima felt really underdressed, even if they were just taking off their clothes.

“Oh… yes.” Tsukishima felt flustered for the first time today, maybe it was just from being in the presence of someone like Kuroo; but he felt like this guy could tell him to do anything and he would probably sincerely think about it.

Tsukishima felt like if he didn’t start doing something soon, that his mind would crumble to dust. He was so caught up with just watching, knowing damn well that Kuroo knew he was watching him, it almost looked like Kuroo was putting on a show for him, rolling his hips as he finally removed his belt, letting it fall onto the floor. Tsukishima bit his lip, realizing that he should probably start taking something off too, if he didn’t, Kuroo would probably say something, or just walk over to him and take his clothes off for him, not that he would have minded that option so much.

He knew he couldn’t do anything fancy like Kuroo, and he certainly didn’t have the means to tease him like he did, but that didn’t stop him from effortlessly pulling his shirt over his head, being careful of his glasses, and throwing it onto the floor.

He could feel Kuroo’s attention fully turn to be on him, as he undid his pants letting them slide off of them, one of the perks of wearing tight jeans, is that you don’t always need to wear a belt with them, and this was one of those times. He remembered that Kuroo said he liked legs, so Tsukishima decided to put that to the test. He could definitely feel like he was the one being hunted here, but he didn’t think it would be any fun for both Kuroo and him if he just gave in to the man from the get go.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo’s voice seemed more seductive and deeper than it did when he first arrived here, his eyes refusing to look away as the bedhead walked closer to him, back him up against the edge of the bed, one hand holding Tsukishima in place, and the other brushing up against his bare thigh, sending a tingle down his spine as a sharp breath escaped him.  
“Like it?” Tsukishima struggled to even mimic the tone Kuroo used before, so much for not giving into the man so easily. Tsukishima wondered if this was what it means to ‘let someone have their way with you?’.

“Very much.” Kuroo kept the tone in his voice that same, seductive one, as he lightly pushed Tsukishima onto the bed, the soft sheets felt completely overpowering underneath his skin, better than he had imagined, definitely top of the line silk.

With some remainder of his strength, Tsukishima reached up and sat his glasses on a nearby night stand that was on the left side of the room, it was small compared to everything else that surrounded the two of them.

He wasn’t exactly sure how much foreplay Kuroo intended for this whole thing, but if the guy wanted to admire his legs, he wasn’t going to stop him.

Kuroo hovered above Tsukishima on the bed, placing his hands on either side of him, as he lightly lifted one of Tsukishima’s legs over his shoulder, producing a moan out of the blonde as he took his hand and started tracing up Tsukishima’s inner thigh. He really did have a thing for legs.

Tsukishima decided to take this opportunity to not lay there and be useless, and started running his hands over Kuroo’s chest, though, that in itself was pretty useless, since he was already in a mess of a state from Kuroo continuing to trace his nails lightly up and down his legs. He was already quivering under the man’s touch, the way his fingers felt almost delicate as they soon learned the sensitive parts of his skin, the parts that made his body almost jump as he touched them, getting a pleased reaction from Kuroo every time.  
“Someone’s eager.” The bedhead smirked, winking as Tsukishima tried to hide the increasing bulge in his boxers.

“Shut up.” Tsukishima instantly regretted those words the moment they left his tongue, he didn’t mean to say it, it just sort of slipped out, you could call it just sort of a natural reaction.

But to Tsukishima’s surprise, Kuroo seemed to enjoy this, most people normally when have given him a questionable look for being so rude, but Kuroo, he almost welcomed it.  
“I knew you were feisty, Tsukki.” Kuroo backed away, letting Tsukishima’s leg that he had so much enjoyment out of touching only a few moments ago, gently fall back down onto the bed. 

Tsukishima propped himself up on his elbows as he watched Kuroo walk to the other side of the room, and pull a small tube out of one of the drawers of the night stand. Everything looked slightly blurrier without his glasses on, but Tsukishima could still make out clearly enough what was happening.

As if he took it as a cue of some sort, Tsukishima used this opportunity to remove what little remained of his clothing and toss it onto the increasing pile of fabric on the floor. He was hard, so much so that he was ashamed to even look down. He hoped that Kuroo was the same, he could already feel his face turn an even darker shade of red from the embarrassment. Tsukishima also pondered if he should already get on his hands and knees, maybe it was just because there was no alcohol mixed in with all of this, but he found himself questioning more and more what he should be doing, and becoming increasingly aware of every little reaction his body had to the bedhead. His body should not be feeling this way this strongly right now.

“Do you want me to stretch you first?” Kuroo’s tone seemed almost considerate as he removed the rest of his clothes as well, showing off the lube and the condom that was now in his hand.

“I’ll be fine.” Tsukishima had a slight uneasiness in his voice, not from being nervous, but this time from the eagerness as he watched Kuroo with lust filled eyes.

“You sure?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow at him, as if it was his final offer.

“I’m not a child, we’re both already here, so fuck me already.” Tsukishima surprised himself by the amount of forcefulness in his voice, but Kuroo didn’t seem to mind, on the contrary, Kuroo seemed to enjoy it, smirking once again.

“Oh, trust me, I know you’re not a child, kitten.”

“Kitten?” Tsukishima questioned the nickname, he liked it better when Kuroo was calling him ‘Tsukki’.

Kuroo had a grin, one that resembled one of a Cheshire cat, Tsukishima was waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t. So, he decided to use this moment to turn over, positioning himself on his hands and knees, feeling that strange feeling of cold air hit his back as he heard the sound of Kuroo opening up the cap and sliding the condom on him. He didn’t even bother to look at him, mainly out of the sheer embarrassment he was feeling right now.

A sharp breath escaped his lips once again as he felt those warm hands run up the inside of his legs for another time, if it wasn’t his hands gripping against the silk sheets tightly, he might have given out then and there, crumbling against the touch of Kuroo and collapsing. He felt himself already quivering as Kuroo stroked his hands over the sensitive part of his inner thigh. He wanted to yell at him, tell him to stop teasing him and fuck him already, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed again, placing his other hand on the back of Tsukishima’s neck, his fingers felt so soft and gentle against his already sensitive skin. He felt Kuroo place light kisses along the nape of his neck, lips still just as warm as he remembered.

“Kuroo.” Tsukishima tried to hide the raspy tone in his voice as he felt Kuroo lightly trace his member over his entrance, before pushing it in. Maybe Tsukishima should have taken him up on his offer earlier, he thought as he clenched the sheets even harder, pushing his head downward.

Kuroo took the hand that was on the back of Tsukishima’s neck and wrapped it around his stomach, as if he trying to hold Tsukishima as close as possible. Tsukishima arched his back as he could feel his knees start to give out. He hadn’t felt like this the last time he was at one of those college parties. His skin was hot as his breath soon became heavy, panting almost in perfect motion with Kuroo.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed again, Tsukishima was starting to think that was the only word Kuroo could say in a situation like this, but he could barely mumble anything other than incoherent moans, so who was he to judge.

He felt Kuroo run his hand through his hair, lightly pulling on the blonde tips, making Tsukishima tilt his head back up, it wasn’t hard enough to where it hurt, but definitely hard enough for him to notice, and draw some sort of reaction out of the blonde. This was only his second time sleeping with someone, and the first time was just as awful, and awkward as everyone had described what your first time was like, but this, this was different. This was pleasurable, the way Kuroo kissed him, whispered in his ear, made his body feel hot as he hit that oh so sensitive spot inside of him, and the way his fingers entangled in his hair, that in itself was enough to push him over the edge.

Tsukishima really wished he could do something right now, something besides feel completely helpless under Kuroo’s touch. This really wasn’t like him, though stooping to this level for money was something until last night, he would have thought he would never do.

“Tsukki, where have you been all my life?” Kuroo moaned out, Tsukishima noted that he wasn’t the only one who seemed to be enjoying himself, Kuroo’s voice almost sounded like a breathy whisper, and Tsukishima could certainly feel the sweat and heat pouring off of his body.

Tsukishima bit down on his lower lip, getting the strength to actually say something that wasn’t cringe worthy right now. “Apparently not desperate enough to do this for money.” It’s not as if they were doing anything wrong per say, but this was pretty much one step away from being prostitution, and somehow Tsukishima’s mind couldn’t get over that.

“Now, now Tsukki, don’t be so hasty. This is perfectly natural.” Kuroo had a certain way with his words, they were both provoking but yet somehow reassuring at the same time. “If you don’t want to, we can stop.”

“No!” Tsukishima felt embarrassed at his recent outburst, like his own brain was telling him not to fuck this up. “I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it.”  
“Hm.” Kuroo sounded pleased with that response. “Good because I feel like I’ve just won the lottery.” He kissed the back of Tsukishima’s neck one more time, it had a rough, but somehow sincere feeling to it.

Tsukishima could already feel himself building up from all of this, he was close, and he was pretty sure with Kuroo right behind like this, he could tell too. In his mind he wanted to rebuttal against Kuroo, saying something like ‘it doesn’t look like you need any more money’, but he couldn’t bring himself to, out of all of the people who could have seen Tsukishima’s application, he was slightly happy it was Kuroo. He thought about how he could have gotten some forty-year-old sleazebag, but an attractive twenty-three-year-old who was great in, and made your whole body dance whenever he kissed you, that wasn’t so bad.

 

“Wait here.” How long had it been now? It felt like hours since Tsukishima stepped into this penthouse, his body felt like it was still on fire, and he found himself feeling exhausted, yet still wanting more.

He knew that he laid there collapsed on the bed with Kuroo for what felt like several minutes, watching as the shorter man stepped out of the room, presuming he was going to the bathroom to clean up their mess.

“What exactly does you being my ‘sugar daddy’ entail?” Tsukishima felt himself asking that question again once he saw Kuroo enter the room.

“I’ll explain everything tomorrow, but right now, you seem tired.” Kuroo had that right, maybe it was just from having an eventful day, but Tsukishima was fighting to process his thoughts right now. 

Tsukishima was already lying flat on his back, letting Kuroo clean the remains of themselves off of him. He still couldn’t quite figure him out, but he seemed to a decent enough guy, probably lonely given that he most likely grew up as a rich kid. The way he talked, this wasn’t his first time doing anything that involved ‘The Lion’s Den’. Though, Tsukishima still wondered what brings a guy like him to want to financially support someone in exchange for sex, maybe it doesn’t seem quite as bad as prostitution does in your mind that way, but he still had a lot of questions.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo whispered as Tsukishima kept his head rested on the pillow. “You’re cute.” He felt Kuroo run a hand through his now equally as messy hair.

He wanted to say something to him, to mutter a simple ‘I’m not’, but he couldn’t, but maybe it was better this way, he would get his answers tomorrow, and maybe, just maybe, this whole situation wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima wakes up in Kuroo's penthouse the following day, forced to come to terms with what his life is going to be like from now on. He has a 'memorable' morning breakfast with Kuroo (in more ways than one) as he learns more about the man he will be living with.

“Ugh.” Tsukishima groaned, rolling over onto his side and reaching over to the right to prepare himself to hit his alarm, purely out of reflex. It was early, his mind could tell it was early, even before he opened his eyes, but the last thing he wanted right now was to hear the dreaded beeping from that demon clock.

His fingers reached around, eyes still closed, and feeling the, what he assumed was he bed underneath him. Strange. He thought to himself, normally his crappy, college apartment bed never felt this soft, almost like silk. Was he just having a good dream?

He reached as far as his arm could reach, but to no avail, couldn’t feel the hard wood and plastic of his night stand, forcing himself to open his eyes and look around at his surroundings. 

“Mornin’, kitten.” A familiar voice resonated in his mind, as his eyes slowly started to focus in on the area around him. He wasn’t drunk, no sign of a hangover, and that’s when it all came flooding back.

It was like one of those moments from the movies, where the main character leaps out of bed, in shock of remembering what just happened the night before.

“Is that anyway to greet the person who is no longer making you a slum?” Kuroo seemed all too relaxed as he rolled over on the bed, sitting up and walking over to a black wardrobe that was a few feet to the right of the fireplace, the flames of that still blazing, making the room a comfortable warm.

“So it wasn’t a dream.” Tsukishima mumbled to himself, turning to his left and putting on his glasses, the room looked much more in focus to him now, and he could feel a slight twinge of pain in his lower hips as he struggled to walk across the room. What day was it? Tuesday? Tsukishima couldn’t even remember anymore.

Tsukishima tried not to look at Kuroo, who was delightfully putting on a white button-up dress shirt that he just pulled out of the wardrobe. Tsukishima was starting to suspect all this guy owned were suits.

His eyes met a plain wall clock that hung on the left side of the back wall, the numbers on it were in roman numerals, with a silver trim around the slightly oval shaped surface. It read somewhere around 8:34. That in itself relieved Tsukishima, if it was Tuesday, his first class didn’t start until ten, which gave him plenty of time to get ready and process whatever the hell happened last night.

Tsukishima thought this must be what it feels like to wake up the next day knowing you’ve made a bad decision, he was desperate for money, that was it. Sure, he had a vague idea of what he signed up for, sex, but is something that people just do? His body still felt like it was on fire and almost nauseous, but that part was probably just from being hungry, he hadn’t much to eat yesterday except for a pop tart, if he recalled correctly.

As if that was its cue to make itself known, Tsukishima’s stomach let out the most obnoxious growl he had ever heard, making both Kuroo and him draw their attention to his stomach.

“Hungry?” Kuroo asked, who was now fiddling with a black tie as he tied it around his neck. Tsukishima didn’t get a good look at him yesterday, or rather, didn’t get a good look at the clothes he was wearing yesterday, but Kuroo looked good in a suit, maybe it was just his build, but on TV and on the internet, guys with muscles always did look good in suits.

Tsukishima thought about answering with sarcasm, something like ‘I don’t need food right now’ or ‘I can take care of myself’, though those sounded incredibly cold in his mind as he listened to himself. But remembering the situation he was in; he was in no position to pass up the best meal he’s probably had in over a month, and there was no use denying that noise his stomach just made. He hated this feeling, this feeling of having to rely on someone else, he was only here for money, but it made him seem weak, which was something he never considered himself to be.

“I still have questions, you know!” As if that was the only thing he could think of to say, other than just a quiet ‘yes’. It was early, and a morning person he was not, he couldn’t already hear his own words sounded colder and crueler than normal.

“I figured you would, Tsukki. Come, I’ll order us some breakfast, are pancakes and eggs okay?” Kuroo almost looked sloppy, as he had on his dress shirt, tie, but a lazy pair of black sweatpants on his lower half, making it look like he was only half dressed. And on top of that, his hair looked just as bad, if not worse, than it did yesterday, still branching off into every single direction. Whatever he did, how could anyone take him seriously with hair like that?

“That’s fine, but can you please not call me that?” Tsukishima groaned, remembering that he packed a small pair of sweats in the bag he brought yesterday. He figured it would probably be better to slip them on, instead of putting on what he wore yesterday, or staying in his underwear. Though, he had a feeling Kuroo wouldn’t mind either way.

He followed Kuroo out into the dining room and living section of the penthouse. It was a long, dark wooden rectangular shaped table, with a perfect window view looking outside, Tsukishima could see the university from there. The bland look he was already wearing on his face dropped to a scowl upon realizing it was a lot farther away than he thought, he hated the idea that he would probably need to take the subway to get to school today.

Kuroo sat the seat closest to Tsukishima, pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling through it with his index finger, Tsukishima felt almost envious, seeing someone with the latest model, compared to his crappy flip phone, he figured Kuroo was probably doing an online order for food or something. This guy somehow pissed him off, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t somewhat pleased with all of this, and the feeling of Kuroo last night definitely didn’t make him hate him. That was probably the most shameful part of it all, knowing that deep down he liked the guy he just met. And the thought of anyone else finding out about this killed him on the inside.

“So questions? I know you probably have a lot of them.” Kuroo sat his phone down on the table, giving Tsukishima time to sit in the chair closet to where he was standing, which happened to be the chair next to Kuroo. Tsukishima still couldn’t peg this guy while he was looking at him, he looked like the kind of person who was professional, but still the kind who is in to some really kinky shit. 

“What exactly are you expecting from me in all of this?” It was probably better to start out with the elephant in the room, the question that Tsukishima was the most uncertain about. He understood by now that ‘The Lion’s Den’ was a ‘sugar daddy / sugar baby’ type of site, sex in exchange for money and other luxuries, but he was still having trouble grasping the idea of how anyone would be okay with that.

Kuroo chuckled slightly, like he was amused with that question, and that pissed Tsukishima as he raised an eyebrow at him, scowling. “If it makes you feel any better.” Kuroo looked out the window slightly and then looked back at Tsukishima. “You can think of it as a matchmaking service, like boyfriends, or friends with benefits, except in this case the benefits are I get great sex, and you no longer have to worry about money or anything. Everything’s consensual, so you don’t have to worry about doing anything you don’t want to do. Hell, you’re actually a lot cuter than your picture led on, I don’t think I would mind if just wanted to be my attractive roommate.” Kuroo winked, sending a chill down Tsukishima’s spine, he definitely was a charmer, but Tsukishima knew he would break so easily.

“So what? I live here, we have sex, and you buy me things?” Maybe he was just reading too much into it, but Tsukishima still felt completely frazzled by all of this, like a fish out of water. It was like someone just thrust a newborn baby animal into the big leagues. Anyone would probably have questions about something like that.

“That’s pretty much the gist of it. If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can just call me your boyfriend, I don’t mind.” Tsukishima couldn’t tell if Kuroo was trying to be considerate or slightly creepy. He had that same hunger look in his eyes, the same one that Tsukishima recognized from last night, as Kuroo reached across the table and gently let his hand rest on top of Tsukishima. It felt nice, and warm, Tsukishima hadn’t noticed it the night before, but the way Kuroo lightly squeezed his hand in a reassuring way almost made him want to hold his hand.

“What do you do for a living anyway? How does at twenty-three-year-old get a penthouse?” Tsukishima had no other choice but to change the subject, he could already feel himself getting far too comfortable with this man.

“Why don’t you guess?” Kuroo teased him, a slightly high-pitched, friendly tone in his voice, and Tsukishima felt himself become all too eager to comply with any question and request this guy had.

Tsukishima pondered for a moment, already feeling himself in too deep to back out now, but given that this was Tokyo, there were still quite a few options. “Model? Young business CEO? Trust fund kid? Photographer? Inventor of some useless thing that sold really well?” Kuroo was young and attractive, so Tsukishima felt like that limited his options, but from the look he was getting on Kuroo’s face, that told him they were all wrong.

“Nope.” Kuroo seemed all too pleased to correct him. “Actually, I am, or was an athlete, until about a year ago. I injured my ankle one too many times and was forced to retire. My father owns a sales company, so after I retired he made me one of the assistant directors, it’s a pretty boring job, I just wear suits and follow him around to meetings, and sometimes make a few phone calls. Satisfied?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow at Tsukishima, who was beaming with curiosity. Tsukishima thought about asking him what sort of sport he played, but he found himself becoming alarmed by how open he seemed to be right now.

“So that’s why you use ‘The Lion’s Den’, wouldn’t it just be better to hire an escort or pick someone up at a club?” Tsukishima had part of Kuroo figured out, the rich, but lonely businessman type, probably grew up with a neglected childhood, and explains why he’s seems so sexually promiscuous. 

“Not really.” Kuroo sighed, removing his hand off of Tsukishima’s, his personality seemed sort of lax right now. “I think it’s better to have one sexual partner than many. Who knows, maybe something good will come out of it, you’re probably the first person I’ve slept with in over six months. Oh, by the way, I’m having a little party here tonight, just with some of my friends, so we should probably get you something decent to wear that’s not sweats before then.”

“It’s alright, we don’t have to.” Tsukishima almost ashamed, as he watched Kuroo’s personality go from lax to one a lot more provoking, like he was a guy who knew how to get his way.

“Do you have something at your apartment that you had in mind, then?” Kuroo smirked, he seemed all too happy to watch Tsukishima squirm under his touch. What was with this guy? He was definitely not like anyone Tsukishima had met before.

“Well no, but-“

“-Then we’ll go out shopping today.” As if he was doing a magic trick, Kuroo reached into his pocket and pulled out two credit cards from his wallet, like he was showing them off. Tsukishima could already feel the fear of a life like this getting too comfortable. And the last thing he wanted was to feel like he owed Kuroo something, he hated people doing things for him like this.

“I can’t do that; I have classes today.” Tsukishima could feel the tone in his voice getting higher and higher, more angry the more he talked.

“You can skip it if you want, I have a friend who works at the university, so I could always pull some strings for you, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, sliding his hand across the table to place it on Tsukishima’s once again. Kuroo was the type of guy that was charming and cunning, the kind that knew how to get what they wanted, and that was the type of person Tsukishima hated the most. And while looking into Kuroo’s eyes, it was clearly obvious for whatever reason, that Kuroo wanted Tsukishima.

As tempting as the offer sounded, and as hard at Tsukishima studied, knowing that he could very well skip a few days and his grades would still be fine, but he thought it would be a risky idea to skip two days in a row.

“That won’t be necessary.” Tsukishima scowled again. “I should probably leave soon anyways.”

“It’s not that far of a drive in my car, I’ll take you after breakfast and we can go shopping after that.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Then do you have a way to pay for a taxi or something?” Kuroo smirked again, knowing damn well that Tsukishima was the epitome of a broke college kid. He had no choice but to give in to the bed head one more time.

“Are your friends who will be at this party in the same situation as us?” Tsukishima didn’t even bother asking why he was having a party on a Tuesday night, don’t most people usually save those sorts of things for the weekends? And he had a suspicious feeling that he was probably going to end up skipping school tomorrow, so he knew he should at least show up today.

“Two of them, Bo and Akaashi, they used to have the whole sugar daddy thing going on, until they fell in love and now they’re well, a normal couple.” Kuroo smiled, like he was almost proud and acted as a matchmaker of some sorts.

“Don’t expect me to fall in love with you.” Tsukishima had a harsh tone in his voice, he assumed to said that just out of spite. If he had to give in to this guy, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Tsukki, I’m wounded.” Kuroo teased, using a fake tone in his voice. “But I must say, I like this tone you’re using, it makes you seem ten times sexier.” As if he was bored, Kuroo started drawing circles over the top of Tsukishima’s hand with his delicate nails, which did nothing but bring back memories from the previous night for Tsukishima, the way those same nails touched Tsukishima’s legs and drove him to the edge with madness.

What’s the best way to get someone like Kuroo to shut up? Smacking him? Staying quiet and hoping the food comes soon? 

Tsukishima pondered over some more options of what to do in this situation. He didn’t hate the bedhead yet, but he could definitely see how living with a guy like this could get annoying. Living with him? It almost scared Tsukishima at how easily he found himself okay with all of this and agreeing with Kuroo.

Kuroo came off to Tsukishima as the kind of guy who really only shuts up when he is surprised about something, so-

The red flags in Tsukishima’s brain were going off, asking him what the fuck he was doing, as he leaned forward across the table and pressed his lips against Kuroo’s, it was impulsive, but he kind of liked it. 

It took Kuroo a minute to realize what was going on, before he quickly dashed his hand up Tsukishima’s arm and up to his neck, holding him as his fingertips entangled in the blonde hair. His lips were rough, passionate, and forceful, just like Tsukishima remembered they were. It was almost strange, Tsukishima was the one who kissed him, but Kuroo was the one who was in control. Tsukishima felt his lips morphing to Kuroo’s perfectly, letting his lips do what they will. Damn it, why did this feel so good, why were Kuroo’s lips so inviting? 

Tsukishima found himself enjoying himself more than he thought he would. He definitely didn’t think this would be as bad as he thought it would. Not that he would ever admit that.  
Tsukishima could feel the heat coming off of Kuroo’s body, and the saliva off of his lips and tongue, as Kuroo licked Tsukishima’s, it was wet, and somehow managed to make his body temperature rise up by what felt like several degrees. Out of all the guys that had to see his application, it had to be one that was attractive, someone he didn’t hate, and was a good kisser. Tsukishima was starting to think he was cursed. Than again, if Kuroo was a curse, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

It was a curse, definitely a curse.

Tsukishima thought as their lips were departed by the urgent sound of the doorbell of the penthouse ringing, there was never a doubt in his mind that it was the food Kuroo ordered for them, but he almost pouted from the lack of contact.

“Wait here.” Kuroo said almost as if it were an order, his breath panting as he briskly walked towards the door, like he was in a hurry.

Just as soon as he was gone, Kuroo returned with a silver tray of food. What else was Tsukishima expecting from an over-the-top place like this? It was cluttered with enough pancakes and eggs to feed a small country. Tsukishima had always been kind of a light eater, and knew there was no way he could even eat a fourth of this.

“I can’t eat all that.” Tsukishima said as if he were protesting it as Kuroo sat the platter down in front of them.

“I didn’t think you could, this place has a terrible habit of making way too much food.”

“You can’t cook?”

“Nope.” Kuroo laughed at himself, as if he were ashamed by the fact. Though, Kuroo did give off the rich kid vibe to Tsukishima, he figured he probably had chefs cook for him his whole life. “But if you can, then by all means, the kitchen is yours, Tsukki.” Kuroo extended out his right arm, gesturing to the kitchen. 

They were both in the same bought when it came to that, all Tsukishima knew how to make were microwavable meals and a few simple dishes. He thought about telling Kuroo ‘I could maker cereal’, but didn’t want to risk hurting the mood that had already built up between the two of them from only a moment ago.

Tsukishima was hesitant to reach his hand over and pile some food on the silver plate in front of him, knowing very well that the minute he touched the food, then he probably wouldn’t get to kiss Kuroo for a few more hours.

“Come with me.” As if Kuroo knew exactly what he was thinking, he lightly grabbed ahold of Tsukishima’s wrist and pinned him against the wall, placing his lips back onto the blondes.

Tsukishima felt the breath get taken out of him, he was surprised, Kuroo looked strong, but Tsukishima knew he had a good few inches on the bedhead, it only made sense that he wouldn’t expect Kuroo to fling him against the wall like that.

Kuroo had one hand on Tsukishima’s left hand, forcing the blonde to use his free hand to run in through Kuroo’s hair, making his natural bedhead even more messy. He didn’t even have time to protest, not that he wanted to, as Kuroo started making soft, yet fierce kisses along Tsukishima’s neck, getting breathy, high-pitched moans out of the taller man. Fuck, his lips felt so good against Tsukishima’s already hot skin. Tsukishima would occasionally tighten his grip in Kuroo’s hair when he would bite down on him. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to only encourage Kuroo as he kept going, biting down harder with each kiss.

Kuroo used his free hand to run it underneath Tsukishima’s shirt, touching his oh so sensitive skin. Tsukishima thought about protesting then and there, telling him that they shouldn’t do this before he goes off to his classes, but it was like his mouth just wouldn’t open. Maybe it was out of enjoying this too much, or out of knowing that Kuroo would probably retort with some half sexual comment, making Tsukishima’s blood boil, or maybe it was just the impulsive part of his brain telling him not to stop him. Whatever it was, Tsukishima found himself being thankful for not stopping this.

It was like Kuroo’s nails were purposely digging into his skin, getting a reaction out of the blonde as his lips continued to kiss up and down his neck. Tsukishima found himself extending his head, tilting his head to the side, letting his rest against the wall as more of skin remained exposed for Kuroo, not even paying attention that the two of them were perfectly exposed from the view of the windows that surrounded the penthouse.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed in a familiar tone, breathing out against his skin as he used his free hand to lift Tsukishima’s shirt up, exposing more skin, this time lifting it up to his shoulders, it felt like he was practically ripping his shirt off of him.

“Kur-“ Tsukishima began, but was abruptly stopped when Kuroo started moving his lips down from Tsukishima’s neck to his chest, getting lower and lower, getting several hot gasps from the blonde.

Tsukishima was forced to close his eyes and bite down on his lip in order to prevent himself from making, whatever those noises were that were coming out of his mouth, as Kuroo practically licked a trail down from Tsukishima’s chest to his hips, where his skin met with the fabric of his pants.

“Kuroo, we should- I have- classes.” Tsukishima’s words were just as mumbled as he imagined they would be if he tried to speak, he could also tell they were barely resonating with Kuroo as he took both of his hands off of Tsukishima, and starting sliding his pants down, the fabric tickling his legs as they hit the floor.

“If you want me to stop, I’ll stop.” Kuroo seemed almost considerate as he looked up at Tsukishima, with that hunger look in his eyes. Tsukishima thought he looked innocent, he had only known him for a day, but he already knew all too well that that was the look of provoking, he was trying to provoke him, get him to crumble underneath his touch, like he did the previous night.

“No, don’t!” Tsukishima didn’t recognize the severe tone in his own voice, like he was commanding him not to stop.

“You’re really cute when you’re bossy.” Kuroo teased, palming the front of Tsukishima’s underwear, as Tsukishima arched his back, giving Kuroo all the more room to do as he pleases with the boy.

Tsukishima could already feel his body bending to Kuroo’s touch as he kissed along the edges of his underwear, before gently pulling them off. Tsukishima did what he could to keep an eye on the clock at the other end of the room, 9:07, they had time, plenty of time, probably too much time as far as Tsukishima was concerned. He could already sense that stupid provoking smirk appearing on Kuroo’s face, knowing damn well he would use up every possible second he could of this opportunity. 

“Shut up.” Tsukishima was able to grumble out under his breath, getting a slight chuckle out of the bedhead. 

Tsukishima looked down, looking Kuroo in the eyes, which he soon regretted, damn those eyes of his. They gave off almost a coy, innocent look as he could feel Kuroo’s hot breath beating down on his skin. Kuroo’s hands both now ran over the insides of Tsukishima’s thighs, each hand drawing small circles on a different thigh. Tsukishima could feel his legs start to wobble, practically giving out from underneath him, he had to use a combination of Kuroo and the wall behind him in order to keep himself from falling to the floor completely.

He looked down at Kuroo again, that guy knew damn well what he was doing to him, he was certain from that smug look on his face that he was enjoying it, the way he lightly blew air against Tsukishima’s already throbbing member, it drove the blonde crazy, got his blood boiling as he struggled then and there to stop himself from yelling at Kuroo. But then again, maybe yelling at him might have been a good thing.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed again, he knew just how turned on the blonde was, and he was determined to see just how far he could push him. “Will you cum for me?”

“I’m pretty sure I did that last night.” Tsukishima scowled, reaching down and entangling his fingers in the bedhead’s hair. 

“You know what they say, having sex at the start of the day can increase how productive you are.” He teased, tracing his fingers up and down Tsukishima’s legs.

“I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of coffee.” Tsukishima breathed out, barely able to get that all out in one sentence without gasping.

“Hm. Well then.” Kuroo winked, bringing his face back down to Tsukishima’s hips, blowing what felt like light kisses as he finally brought his tongue back into the mix.

“Fuck! Kuroo.” Tsukishima placed his free hand over top of his mouth, in an attempt to stop himself from making any more embarrassing noises, as Kuroo put his lips around Tsukishima. He wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or anxious, as his hot breath got even hotter. He should have probably mentioned to Kuroo that he hadn’t done anything with another man outside of just sex. But he guessed it was too late to ponder something like that now. But whatever Kuroo was doing, he felt like his whole body was going to die from the pleasure.

Tsukishima moved his hand from Kuroo’s hair to his shoulder, as if he was trying to steady himself, while still managing to bite down on his lips. He really wished he could stop time right now, actually it probably would have been better if he could have. Meer seconds felt like hours with Kuroo here, and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to let that go. Did Kuroo know how good he was, and how close Tsukishima felt right now? 

“Tsukki, do it for me.” Kuroo released himself off of Tsukishima with a pop sound.

It took Tsukishima a minute to figure out what he was talking about, out of just forgetting, or out of Kuroo never actually be straight forward with what he means. It pissed Tsukishima off.

‘Oh where had his life gone wrong?’, Tsukishima thought to himself as Kuroo went back down and continued on him. He was good, fuck, he was better than good. Kuroo had a way of making Tsukishima feel like his whole body was on fire, and a slight twinge in his body made him feel numb. Maybe The Lion’s Den wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

 

Back to seconds feeling like hours, Kuroo finally ceased his mouth off of Tsukishima, almost too proud with remnants of his early morning ‘work’ on his face, he reached over on the dining table, grabbing one of the pure white napkins that came with their breakfast try. They had gold trim around them, a lot like the doors had, with the words ‘Starlight’ written in the same girlie font. 

Realizing the taller boy was completely overpowered by him, unable to stand on his own, Kuroo decided to prop him up against the wall as he leaned him off. Tsukishima looked at him through his glasses, feeling that feeling finally start to get back into his legs. He said several choice words that he wanted to say to Kuroo, but he knew none of them would come out, he was a mess, no, more than a mess, he was a wreck, and it was all because of that stupid bedhead.

“I think I’ll skip school again today.” Tsukishima mumbled as he walked past Kuroo and sat down at the table. He wasn’t proud of it, but with the state he was in now, focusing in class was going to be nearly impossible. He already knew that he would spend the whole day thinking about Kuroo, then about halfway through the day he would have to go to the bathroom to ‘relieve’ himself, and the whole day would be downhill from there.

“You sure? We still have time; I can take you.” Kuroo placed his hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder, as if he was comforting him. Tsukishima didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty certain Kuroo had an idea that was his first doing ‘that’.

“No, by this point the whole day is a waste. I’ll go shopping with you after I eat.” It was all Tsukishima could muster out as he piled two pancakes and some eggs onto his plate. The heat that was coming off of them had now fizzled out, and they were getting to that point where they were barely warm, still edible, but not nearly as enjoyable.

“Really? Great!” Kuroo seemed to beam with excitement, or maybe it was just that he was pleased. Tsukishima really couldn’t tell with his personality yet. 

He could feel Kuroo wrap his arms around him from behind, still with that warm feeling he felt only moments ago. Tsukishima was pretty sure his brain was telling him it’s okay to smile right now, but he couldn’t. all he could do was feel Kuroo on him, and how he gently placed a kiss on the side of Tsukishima’s cheek, making him blush. Seriously? Why was he blushing right now? He just had two of the best sexual experiences in his life with a man he hardly knew, why was he getting butterflies like some dainty girl in a romance novel?

“I have several stores that I want us to check out, and I think I already know a few things you’ll look good in.” Kuroo smirked, placing an index finger over his lips, as if he was keeping a secret. He sat down next to Tsukishima, piling some food onto his plate, it looked like he put on at least three times the amount that Tsukishima did.  
“Like?” Tsukishima knew what kind of response he would get if he pried like this, but he still couldn’t resist knowing exactly what kind of thoughts were going on inside the bedheads mind.

“You’ll see soon enough. I want you to try them on for me.” Kuroo winked, making Tsukishima wince at how entitled and flirty he was being.

“And why would I do that?” Unfazed, Tsukishima used the silver fork and knife (probably made out of actual silver) to slice the pancakes and pour a small amount of syrup on them.

“Because you know that I can make you feel that way all over again.” Kuroo reached out, placing his hand on top of Tsukishima’s, the look on his face was provoking, like always, making Tsukishima scowl. This was going to get boring really fast. “Anyway.” Kuroo brought his hand back over to his plate, already using his fork and knife to dig into the eggs. He had a certain etiquette with how to eat, cutting his food up into perfect squares, and gently eating them as if he were at a fancy French restaurant. Tsukishima thought how it looked really weird, someone of his size and his hair acting as if he were a Prince. “Was that your first time, with something like ‘that’?”

Tsukishima thought about lying, though he was pretty sure Kuroo would have been able to see right through that. They say virgins have a certain way that they act, naïve, submissive, don’t really do much. Of course, it’s a lot more obvious when it’s actual sex, but he figured it was still all the same. 

“Was it that obvious?” Tsukishima refused to look at Kuroo, who was no doubt smirking at him from across the table, he could already hear the ‘hum’ of pleasure in his voice as he got the answer he wanted. 

Tsukishima decided to just keep his head down and look at his food, this time not even eating it, just pushing it around with his fork, forgetting about how hungry he was only a little over a half an hour ago.

“Yes, it was actually kind of cute.” Kuroo added a somewhat light hearted laugh at the end there, with a strange satisfaction in his voice. Tsukishima had always been good at reading people, so he figured Kuroo was just highly satisfied that he got to take Tsukishima’s virginity in some way. A guy like Kuroo probably took more pride in that than he should have.

 

“Tsukki, aren’t you going to eat more?” Kuroo asked almost with a pleasant tone in his voice. 

Tsukishima hadn’t really been paying attention, he would push the food around on his plate, and then every few seconds or minutes bring some of it up to his mouth to eat. It didn’t taste bad by any means, it was actually probably some of the better breakfast he had had in a long time, it was certainly better than the pop tarts and breakfast bars he had been surviving off of in his college apartment with over the past few months.

“Oh I’m fine, I just can’t eat that much.” Tsukishima finally brought his eyes up to look at Kuroo, that wasn’t a lie. One of the perks of Tsukishima was that he never had to spend a lot of money on food. In his early days in college, he found that most of his went to waste because he couldn’t finish eating it all.

“Okay.” Kuroo pouted his lips, like he was thinking and slightly disappointed with that answer. Tsukishima was surprised he didn’t try to force feed him, that’s usually what happens as his family dinners, mainly from his older brother who is insistent that Tsukishima should eat more. When you take out the fact that Kuroo was the king of provoking people, Tsukishima thought he was actually an okay guy. Then again, he might going back on his word about that pretty soon, Tsukishima found that provoking people can be quite a nuisance. And right now, Tsukishima was trying to think of Kuroo as anything but a nuisance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! I did not expect the first chapter of this story to do as well as it did, thank you guys so much for all your comments. I'm currently working out a schedule for this and going to try my best to update this story weekly, probably every Sunday or Monday. Also, next chapter will probably start the plot and get introduced to more characters.


	3. Like?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima reflects on shopping with Kuroo for the first time, and later attends a 'party' where he meet Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa, where he gets to see a different side to Kuroo for the first time.

The first thing Tsukishima learned today, Kuroo was a terrible driver. Worst of the worst. How did he even get his license? He drove a sports car (figures), pure black, convertible, the newest model and everything, even with an upgraded sound system. They say people who drive sports cars are notorious for being reckless drivers, and Kuroo definitely didn’t do anything to disprove that theory. If anything, Tsukishima felt like he cheated death multiple times in the course of just a few short hours this afternoon.

But true to his word, Kuroo did take him shopping, to several places, all of which were far too expensive for Tsukishima’s tastes, but Kuroo insisted. Buying him jeans, shirts, even a suit, which Tsukishima was positive he would never wear. He even took him to an electronic store to buy him a new laptop and a phone. He said that he insisted on it after taking a look inside of Tsukishima’s bag, saying ‘what is this piece of shit?’ upon discovering his crappy laptop.

Tsukishima didn’t mind, he was thankful more than anything, but it just felt so weird to him to have someone buying him things, it almost made him feel like he was in debt to the guy know. Kuroo mentioned yesterday that if Tsukishima needed anything, he should just tell him, but Tsukishima had a hard time bringing himself to do that. In the back of his mind, asking for clothes, food, or a new computer up front like that would just make him feel selfish, and he didn’t want that. He knew that was the whole point of their ‘arrangement’, but Tsukishima didn’t want to feel like he was taking advantage of Kuroo. For all he knew, this ‘sugar daddy’ thing would only last a month, and then he would have to go back to living in that crappy college apartment, and all this luxury would be nothing then.

Throughout the day, while they were shopping, Kuroo picked up several things he thought Tsukishima would look good in, coaxing the blonde to try them all on in the nearest dressing room and model them for him, asking him to strut around the almost empty store like a model. It made Tsukishima feel incredibly awkward, even if it was just the two of them, having that attention on him as he stood there awkwardly in clothes that made him feel like a fish out of water with how different they were to what he usually wore, it was uncomfortable to say the least.

For his observation, it seemed like Kuroo was a regular at these stores, and all the sales people knew him pretty well, calling him by his name and making the usual friendly chit-chat most cashiers do as you check-out. Kuroo even introduced Tsukishima to a few of them, calling him his ‘friend’, though from the looks on their faces, they knew very well what kind of ‘friend’ Tsukishima was. It almost felt like they were degrading him, the way their eyes took pity on him and they almost treated him like he was lesser. Was this really what rich people were like? So petty that even the sales people treat you differently? It felt like that scene from ‘Pretty Woman’, where Julia Roberts’ character gets turned away from the store, because she ‘doesn’t look rich enough to shop there’. Hell, if Kuroo hadn’t have been there that might have actually happened.

The clothes ranged from everything from suits to casual jeans and shirts (though they still cost just as much as a suit), to even some leather that Kuroo said would make Tsukishima’s legs ‘look ten times sexier’, though he knew Kuroo most likely just wanted an excuse to stare at his legs. Honestly, Tsukishima was surprised that Kuroo hadn’t tried to come into the dressing room with him, he could practically hear Kuroo’s voice in his head telling him that he was ‘insisting on watching the taller boy get changed’. It sounded like something Kuroo would do, then again, it was probably best not to give him any ideas.

Once they got back to Kuroo’s penthouse, he finally decided to give Tsukishima the ‘official tour’, showing him every inch of the kitchen, the living room, the video games that Kuroo had, to even the closed doors in the hallway that Tsukishima saw the previous night. Just as Tsukishima had suspected; they were various bedrooms and bathrooms. Kuroo even offered to let Tsukishima sleep in one of them, saying ‘if you ever don’t want to sleep with me, a private room is always a good option’. It was clear what he was doing, he was trying to provoke him, knowing very well that Tsukishima was stubborn, and would do the opposite of whatever he suggested. He had always been like that ever since he was a little kid, if someone would tell him ‘I don’t think you would like this thing’, it made Tsukishima immediately want to try or do whatever that thing was. He really wouldn’t have considered himself impulsive, just hated being told what to do, and hated even more being told what he would or wouldn’t like before he even tried it.

Tsukishima did learn a few things though about Kuroo while on the ‘tour’ though, mainly, how little self-control the bedhead had when Tsukishima wore tight pants. Tsukishima didn’t do it on purpose, but he knew Kuroo would nag him to put on some of the new clothes, so he did it anyway, and then soon regretted his decision. It felt like every five minutes or so, Tsukishima found himself pressed up against the wall, hands running down his legs, touching him through his new jeans, as Kuroo continued to kiss him. His kisses were always slightly sloppy and wet, almost like he would lick his lips before kissing him, making the friction they caused to be all the hotter. It never got further past that, but it was a real distraction. So much so that even once, he found himself kissing Kuroo back, wanting the attention back on him, of course, Kuroo was all too happy to comply, even biting down on the blonde’s neck from time to time. Making Tsukishima want to put on a turtleneck to hide those soon to be embarrassing marks. 

Tsukishima did feel ashamed about it afterwards, though. Over the course of barely twenty-four hours, Kuroo Tetsurou was able to turn the intelligent, and quiet Tsukishima Kei into a pervert who was desperate for sexual attention. What was happening to him?

He wasn’t sure how long it had been after that, but Tsukishima also learned that Kuroo had a cat, a rather large (as far as house cats are considered), all black, fluffy thing. Kuroo said that her name was ‘Raven’ and that he rescued her when she was a stray. She was kind of cute actually, the way she nuzzled up to Tsukishima, her mint green eyes glowing as she purred, it was almost heartwarming. 

By now, it was almost five, and Tsukishima did feel slightly bad for skipping his classes today, and knowing he would tomorrow as well. He felt so bad that he decided to shoot one of his professors an email, telling them that he had a family emergency and probably wouldn’t be back in for the rest of the week. That was a lie of course. There was no way you could even start to explain to someone, let alone a professor in their mid-forties, that you now had a sugar daddy, who was a raging pervert, bought you things, and was content on having some of the best sex of your life every night, and you would probably be missing a lot of school days from now on because of that. Hell, even Tsukishima listening to himself explain it in his head made it sound like the set up for a poorly made adult film. 

Kuroo spent most of the rest of the day ordering take-out for Tsukishima, from pizza for lunch, to fancy French for dinner. Tsukishima didn’t even know where to begin on the French food. How are you supposed to know how to eat a meal for the first time when it comes with three different sets of forks? Kuroo was nice enough to tell him, but Tsukishima still felt very inferior when it came to this life style.

“Tsukki, come here, I have some people I want you to meet.” Kuroo cooed from the living room, as Tsukishima was hanging up the remainder of his clothes that Kuroo bought for him earlier in the day in his closet. Kuroo insisted on hanging them up in the wardrobe in his room, which was actually a lot more spacious than Tsukishima originally thought, and he seemed pretty stern on him and Tsukishima sleeping in the same bed. And since Tsukishima couldn’t come up with a good argument against him, he almost did so willingly. He was starting to actually found himself starting to get along with the guy, laughing at his jokes, and almost feeling sad when they stopped kissing. The bedhead was definitely changing him. Or maybe Tsukishima was just being forced to change thanks to the new environment. Who knew?

“Okay!” Tsukishima called out, draping the last of the clothes over the chair so he could finish putting them away later, as he made his way into the living room.

Right now, Tsukishima wore the new (designer) jeans Kuroo bought him, they were black, Kuroo said that everyone looks good in black, along with a white button-up top, with some fancy designer logo over the pocket in a bright red font. It felt far too elaborate for Tsukishima, some thrift store clothes would have been just fine, but no, Kuroo insisted, like always.

Tsukishima tried not to think about the new clothes, even though they had a completely different feel to them to what he normally would wear. It wasn’t just that they were made out of more expensive material, but wearing them just made you feel different, feel important, something Tsukishima always thought he was not. He considered himself to be average at best. 

In the living room Tsukishima was met with the eyes of three men, none of which he had recognized before. Two of them were holding hands, one with hair in a spike up motion, which also appeared to be dyed a mixture of black and light gray, bordering on white, and the other with somewhat ‘normal’ looking hair. And by ‘normal’, he meant something that looked like it was lacking product or any sort of dye to it. The one with the white spikey hair also looked rather fit, with muscles showing from underneath the white shirt he was wearing. Both of those guys wore, almost matching, outfits, white dress shirts, black skinny ties, and dress pants. Even with his new clothes, Tsukishima still felt really underdressed. Maybe it was just because he lacked the confidence these guys had, but he felt extremely out of place. And knowing that their eyes would probably be all on him at this party, didn’t do anything to help that feeling.

The other guy had a bit more of a flamboyant look about him, perfectly quaffed, slightly curly brown hair, dreamy eyes, he looked like the kind of guy that girls just naturally fall for. He also seemed to be wearing dress clothes, except his were light gray instead of black. Each of the new men had something that looked and smelt a lot like alcohol in cups in their hands, as they all gathered around the leather couch in the living room. You could definitely tell that they all came from wealthy families, they had a certain air around them that made them that made them look special, including Kuroo. Maybe it was just the way they presented themselves and looked like elites, but Tsukishima definitely didn’t feel like he belonged here. It wasn’t until Kuroo started talking to him that he began to feel somewhat at ease again.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo’s voice had a pleasant ring to it, as he made his way over to where Tsukishima was standing, lightly grabbing him by the hand as he led him over to the group of men. 

Tsukishima wasn’t exactly sure what to think as they all smiled at him, he was pretty much just the guy Kuroo was fucking, and then in return buying him things. To a bunch of rich guys, Tsukishima just assumed that sounded like a gold digger. If it wasn’t for the fact that Tsukishima remembered Kuroo saying two of his friends fell in love after a similar arrangement, he might have even been more on edge right now.

“This is Tsukki, the one I’ve been telling you about. He’s my new baby.” Kuroo put his hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder and he used the word ‘baby’ as if it was a word of endearment, but Tsukishima knew what he meant, ‘baby’ as in ‘sugar baby’, Tsukishima still hadn’t come to terms yet with liking that word, but he would have to get used to it. He wasn’t exactly up for leaving this ‘arrangement’ anytime soon.

“Hello.” Tsukishima forced himself to smile at the three men, using a half-pleasant voice. His mind was still somehow alarmed that Kuroo told people about him.

“Tsukki, these are the friends I mentioned yesterday. The serious one is Akaashi.” Kuroo pointed to the ‘normal’ looking one, who gave a polite nod as he placed his arm around the spikey haired man. “The spikey haired one in Bokuto, or Bo for short.”

“Hey!” Bokuto spoke, or rather, yelled in a happy manner, Tsukishima noted that he seemed to be in good spirits, like the kind of person who is always energetic and happy.

“And the model-like one is Oikawa.” Kuroo pointed to the one who had the perfectly quaffed hair, he had a serious tone about him, maybe it was just from the alcohol, but Tsukishima was getting the impression that he wasn’t quite like the other two.

“Well, he certainly is how you described him.” Oikawa chuckled, he seemed pretty articulate as he pronounced each syllable individually, making sure they each had meaning and were heard. Tsukishima was surprised that his voice was a lot higher than he imagined it would be. “Tall, blonde, and legs for days.” Oikawa took another sip of the beverage that was in his glass, taking a seat down on the leather couch. Tsukishima suddenly felt a little self-conscious, as Kuroo and the other two men looked up and down him, it felt like they were analyzing him. Or maybe they were just surprised how tall he was.

“You’ll have to forgive Oikawa. He’s a model and he can be a bit pouty, because models aren’t allowed to smile.” Kuroo laughed lightly, letting go of Tsukishima and walking into the kitchen area, he grabbed a bottle of champagne and poured it into two identical glasses, coming back and handing one to Tsukishima.

“I am not pouty!” Oikawa shot a mean glare towards Kuroo, before grabbing a remote that rested on the arm of the couch and flipped on the TV. He stayed quiet as he flipped through several channels, the weather, news, some reality show, before landing on a basketball game and stopping it. “I wish they had a rule where sports players were required to wear skimpier shorts.” He had a buzzed sound to his voice. You could already tell that Oikawa was a little tipsy.

“Dude, why don’t you just use The Lion’s Den and get a baby? I mean, look at me and Akaashi. I used to be a low-life waiter at a night club, then I became his baby, and now look at us.” Bokuto beamed and placed a gentle kiss on Akaashi’s cheek. Somehow Tsukishima was having a hard time picture Akaashi as the ‘sugar daddy’ between the two of them. 

Normally someone as muscular as Bokuto gave off a more dominant role type of vibe.

“Is that how you two met?” Tsukishima couldn’t stop his curiosity from asking as he turned and faced Bokuto and Akaashi.

“’The Lion’s Den’s only been a website for about six months now, we met on his first night working at the club a little over a year ago. He was terrible, almost spilt a drink on me, but he was kind of cute.” Akaashi’s word seemed to have emotion in them, almost happy as he gave a vague smile to Bokuto, who was standing next to him.

“Akaashi, tell ‘em the rest!” Bokuto whined, before continuing, not even giving Akaashi a chance to finish off the story. “He took me home with him, woke up the next day and offered me to stay at his place in exchange for sex, best fuck of my life. He found out I was fresh out of college, and the rest is history. We fell in love and now we’re here!” Bokuto sang, you could sense the sincerity in his voice, happy, you could tell that whatever they had was genuine. If anything, it made Tsukishima think.

“It’s true.” Kuroo looped his arm back around Tsukishima, distracting him from the small conversation he just had with Bokuto and Akaashi, and Tsukishima nuzzled himself into it. “Akaashi and I were old buddies back in high school, I was the first person he told Bo about and now we’re totally bffs-“ Kuroo almost seemed proud of the fact, like he was showing off, laughing, like they were just four friends out having fun. It felt strange to Tsukishima, to see the man he pegged as slightly creepy yesterday, now having a genuine friendly side with his friends. He also couldn’t help himself but try to hold back a laugh, who still says things like ‘bff’ these days?

“Dude!” Bokuto yelled, startling everyone with his loud voice. “Did you see that new onsen they just opened up?!”

“You mean the one that’s two blocks away from here?” You could tell that Kuroo and Bokuto got along well, like those two could go on for hours talking about who knows what. It was almost refreshing as Tsukishima watched them in amusement. 

“Yeah that one! The four of us should go there sometime, right Akaashi?” Bokuto eagerly turned his head towards Akaashi, as if he was asking for his approvable. 

“If we’re all available, I don’t see why not.” Akaashi’s voice was soft spoken, and Tsukishima could tell that he really had a business man type of vibe, he didn’t bother asking what he did for a living, but if he was anything like Kuroo, he probably worked as some higher up in a company around here.

“What do you say, Tsukki, wanna go?” Kuroo moved his head closer to Tsukishima, as if the two were now face to face, he had that same provoking smile on his face as he pressured him for an answer. 

“Well, I don’t know-“ Tsukishima didn’t know where to begin with a question like that, it was clear that both Kuroo and Bokuto were steering the conversation, but he wasn’t quite sure how he liked this friendly atmosphere. Kuroo was joking and having a good time with Bokuto, bringing Tsukishima more into this life style with his circle of friends, Tsukishima almost felt taken back. How exactly was he supposed to act in a situation like this? He still couldn’t even figure out what he thought of Kuroo, he didn’t hate him, but there was quite a difference between hating someone and liking them.

So far what Tsukishima had seen of this party gave Kuroo a genuine side, it made him seem like something more than just a perverted, rich, slightly creepy asshole who was really into sex. Tsukishima figured he would get to know Kuroo better in the coming weeks, but what exactly about him made him so likable right now? Was it the way he laughed? The way he smiled? The way he held onto Tsukishima as if to try to include him in on the conversation, like he was trying to make him feel comfortable and welcome? What was it?

As if they were reminded that Oikawa was still there, they heard a slight scoff from the couch, reminding them all of his presence on the other side of the room. Stopping their conversation, and to Tsukishima’s relief forgetting that they just technically asked him to go on a double date with them, sort of, they all brought their attention to the model as he watched the TV. Looking at him now, he almost looked like a third wheel, or a fifth wheel?

Tsukishima found himself leaning more into Kuroo as the conversation stopped. He wasn’t sure why, part of him thought he was just supposed to do that, if Kuroo wanted to cuddle with him, he would. But somewhere along the way, he feared that he just sort of started doing it subconsciously, his body acted on its own as if it was just drawn in to Kuroo. That was what he feared the most right now, the last thing he knew he needed to do was get attached, because he knew this was only temporary.

“My life’s already gotten ten times better after getting with Tsukki yesterday. You should try it Oikawa.” Kuroo spoke softly, almost wrapping his free arm completely around Tsukishima from behind, he could already clearly see that he was getting drunk from the subtle redness on his face. Dammit, why was he even warm when he was drunk? Why was Kuroo Tetsurou a walking blanket? Tsukishima really hated how warm Kuroo felt, and he hated even more that he wanted to feel this way all the time.

“No, I don’t think so. There’s really no point in doing something like that if you don’t like the other person at least a little bit. I couldn’t just sleep with someone and buy them things if they were a random stranger. How do you do it, Tetsu-chan?” Oikawa took another sip from his glass, almost drinking the thing completely empty by this point, you could hear the ice clink around in it as he got to the bottom, but his voice sounded sad, like he was lonely. Tsukishima sort of felt bad for him. He didn’t know him, but if he had learnt anything from Kuroo in the past day, it was that people in their type of life style weren’t exactly beaming with friends.

“I just sort of do it.” Kuroo smiled. 

Thinking about it, Oikawa did have a point, he knew nothing about Kuroo and Kuroo knew nothing about him, not that he cared either way, but it would be pretty difficult to start treating someone you just met like you’ve known them for years. When you think about it, Tsukishima had the easy part in this; sleep with Kuroo, get money, and try not to screw things up in the process.

“Though it helps since Tsukki and I have a connection.” 

“A connection?” Tsukishima raised his eyebrow to Kuroo. He couldn’t tell if he was drunk or just trying to provoke him.

“We’re sexually compatible.” Kuroo kissed Tsukishima on the cheek, in a similar way how Bokuto kissed Akaashi on the cheek only moments ago.

Almost spilling his drink, Tsukishima started coughing, almost losing his balance I shock. If Kuroo hadn’t had his hand around him, he might have actually fallen over. What the fuck did that even mean? Did Kuroo have to be one of those guys who say such cringe worthy things in public. What’s next? Is he the type of guy who boasts about how great his sex life is?

“Aw, is he shy?” Bokuto asked curiously as he watched in amusement. 

“Nah, he’s just a little feisty.” Kuroo smiled as if he was proud of that fact.

“He must be your fucking dream boy then.” Oikawa joined back into the conversation, but refused to bring his head up from watching the game on the TV.

“Are you two going to be like me and Akaashi?” Bokuto curled his fists like he was a giddy school girl, bursting with excitement. 

Tsukishima could feel his mind screaming out ‘no!’ as if it was just a normal reaction. But Kuroo tightened his grip on Tsukishima, and gave a feint “maybe” as his response.  
Tsukishima tried to ponder what that meant, trying to be rational about it. He hadn’t given himself much time to think about it, but he imagined he would be with Kuroo for no longer than a year. He tried to think of the best possible scenario, and since Kuroo turned out not to be a complete asshole, (some of the time), maybe he would get lucky and Kuroo could line him up with an internship somewhere or something, anything just to get his foot in the door. But ‘maybe’ that was Kuroo trying to imply that he liked him, well, he did say that he thought Tsukishima was cute, so that must mean he didn’t hate him. And Tsukishima certainly didn’t hate Kuroo either. He secretly enjoyed the attention that Kuroo gave him, both normal attention and sexual, but getting attached to someone, especially his ‘sugar daddy’, wasn’t in his best interest right now. Bokuto and Akaashi were a rare case, a case of two people who just so happened to fall in love after their ‘arrangement’, but that wouldn’t be possible for him and Kuroo. Did Tsukishima even want that? No, of course not, what was he thinking? Love at first sight only exists in the movies, if anything, he just appreciated Kuroo as a person, and the sex. This just had to be the alcohol talking and distracting him.

“Say, Tsukki, do you like Kuroo?” As if Bokuto could read his mind, he turned to face Tsukishima, who was practically connected with Kuroo with how close they were at this point.

“Well, I don’t hate him.” Tsukishima was definitely taken off guard with that question. In his mind, he knew that he was actually quite fond of Kuroo, but he didn’t want to tell him that. Depending on the type of guy that Kuroo is, he might interpret being fond of him as in liking him romantically, and Tsukishima didn’t want that, at least not now. “If I wasn’t at least fond of him a little bit, I would have left after the first fuck.” And there went his mouth again, saying something that he really didn’t want to say.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo gasped, almost knocking the drink out of his hand as he tightened his grip on him from behind, almost like he was hugging him as he rested his head on Tsukishima’s shoulder. His hair tickled the side of Tsukishima’s face, and he thought that it felt nice, warm, and he could smell Kuroo’s cologne on him more clearly than ever. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me, I’m so flattered.” Tsukishima couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not, but he knew he could feel his entire body start to heat up when Kuroo kissed his cheek.

“I didn’t really say anything.” Tsukishima tried not to show any emotion, though he could already hear his voice start to break.

“You said enough, we’re totally gonna fuck tonight.” Kuroo had a twinge of mischievous in his voice, and Tsukishima was pretty sure he felt one of Kuroo’s hands slide down to his thigh, but then again, that might have just been the alcohol messing with his brain.

“Oh ho ho.” Bokuto snickered again like a little school girl, actually, it was more like a high school boy than a school girl. He gave Kuroo a slight wink and a nod, and for Tsukishima, he knew it had to be the alcohol in him. “Don’t stop on our accounts, kids.”

“You two are more than welcome to get a room yourself.” Kuroo teased Bokuto right back. 

You could see the excitement in Bokuto’s eyes, as he tugged on the sleeve of Akaashi’s shirt, as if he was getting his approval for something. Tsukishima was starting to get the feeling that Akaashi wasn’t the type of guy who said much. He seemed pleasant, like the kind of guy he would get along with, but not one who was much for conversation.

“Now him.” Oikawa spoke again, for a brief moment it felt like everyone forgot he was there. He didn’t look like the quiet type, just more like he was deep in thought. “Him I wouldn’t mind being his sugar daddy, or baby.” He was drunk, there was no doubt about it, no one says things like that when they’re sober, or at least not out loud.

Out of curiosity, everyone looked up at the TV screen, the basketball game was still going on, and a player wearing a bright white and teal colored uniform was on the screen, he had a number ‘4’ on his jersey, and the name above it read ‘Iwaizumi’. You couldn’t really see his face that well from the camera angle, but he had brown hair, well-defined muscles reaching out from his jersey, and a stern face. Tsukishima thought that he definitely looked like the athletic type.

“That’s Iwaizumi Hajime.” Kuroo’s face had a surprising bland ring to it, like he was giving off a definition of a word. 

“Do you know him?” Oikawa perked up, getting almost as hyper as Bokuto, the way his eyes opened up almost made him seem hyper.

“Not personally. But when I used to play sports I remember hearing from some of my teammates that he was really good. Also, apparently he lives around here.” Kuroo winked towards Oikawa, as if he were trying to signal for him to go after him.

“Does a guy like that really need a sugar daddy though? I thought most athletes get paid really well.” Tsukishima felt a bit dumb and mean for saying that, but he thought it would be even crueler for Oikawa to get his hopes up then just to be let down.

As if everyone realized Tsukishima was not being mean and speaking the truth, the whole atmosphere in the room seemed to dissolve into something much more somber, probably a mix between alcohol and sadness. It took several minutes before both Kuroo and Bokuto broke it by being there perverted (or what Tsukishima assumed was perverted, since he still didn’t know either of them really well) selves. Tsukishima wondered if there was something about sugar daddy’s and their hormones that made them horny all the time, because this time it wasn’t just Kuroo.

He wasn’t sure who initiated it this time, him? Kuroo? Both of them? Maybe it was just a mutual thing, but he didn’t mind it. He was pretty sure his whole body just turned around by itself on reaction, meeting Kuroo as their lips met once again. It was short, like he was used to, he could smell and taste the champagne on him, it was overpowering, and his lips were still wet from drinking. It was just a light peck on the lips, like something Tsukishima witnessed Bokuto and Akaashi doing only moments ago, like something of endearment, but to Tsukishima it just felt like Kuroo was teasing him, egging him on, provoking him. Tsukishima hated to admit that he was sort of used to it by now, and he even hated more that he found himself liking it. Wait, did he like Kuroo?

Just as soon as it started, it was gone again, as if Kuroo wanted to keep it that way, or as if he realized that they weren’t alone. Sure, Bokuto and Akaashi were already shoving each other’s tongues down their throats, as they stumbled their way down the hallway and into an empty room, almost knocking over a lamp in the process. Bokuto even breathed out a feint ‘ow’ when he backed himself into the frame of a door by accident. But, that still left Oikawa, who was still sitting on the couch, drink in hand, as he ogled over Iwaizumi on the TV screen, the high definition and Kuroo’s TV, which had to be over seventy inches long, wasn’t helping the models crush either.

“Oikawa.” Kuroo breathed out, placing his hands on Tsukishima’s hips, as if he was holding him close, using one of his hands to rub Tsukishima’s inner thigh, driving the blonde wild with anticipation. He had thought it before, but Kuroo definitely knew all the right spots to touch on his body right now, and he knew it too. “We’re going to go retire to a room, probably for the rest of the night. By the look of it, Bo and Akaashi are doing the same.” Kuroo laughed, gesturing to a closed door on the right side of the hallway, which was already locked, and you could hear feint mumbles coming from the other side of the wall. “But you’re more than welcome to stay, sleep over, or leave whenever you want.” Oikawa gave a friendly nod, as if he was saying ‘you two go have fun’.

“Are Oikawa, Bokuto, and Akaashi the only ones that were coming to this party?” Tsukishima wanted to ask several things right now. When Kuroo mentioned this morning that he was having a party, Tsukishima thought it would be a bit more lively, something with at least twenty people, probably all rich and snobby, wearing suits and drinking, but this, this was more like a small get together than anything else. Maybe some of his friends had to cancel, or maybe this was how all of Kuroo’s parties were. Who knows?

“Yeah, our parties are usually just the drunken ramblings of four men in suits, we usually drink and watch TV until one of us decides to ‘step out’ for several hours and never return.”

“And it’s usually Bo and Akaashi.” Oikawa sighed out, getting up from the couch and walking to the kitchen, pouring himself some more alcohol in his glass. Tsukishima could definitely see that happening, mainly with Bokuto. From what Tsukishima saw of him already, he seemed like the kind of guy who could be ruled by his emotions, and seemed pretty energetic and enthusiastic about these sorts of things. “Seeing you act like this is a bit new, Tetsu-chan.”

“Well, what can I say, Tsukki here has me feeling all sorts of things lately.” Kuroo winked towards Oikawa, placing another gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s face, Tsukishima desperately tried to turn his head, not wanting anyone to see the embarrassing shade of red that was no doubt all over him by this point.

“Okay.” Oikawa gave a slight smirk, showing some kind of emotion for the first tonight. (Well, besides when he was practically drooling over Iwaizumi on the screen.) Tsukishima couldn’t quite figure him out, to him, Oikawa just seemed like an attractive guy that was a little lonely, not that it was any of his concern, but if he was going to be staying with Kuroo for the next year or however, he was probably going to be at least seeing him quite often.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed in his ear, as if he was bringing him back to earth, as he grabbed the edge of Tsukishima’s shirt, pulling him in the direction towards Kuroo’s room, planting light kisses on Tsukishima’s exposed neck. Kuroo seemed more forceful than he did last night, maybe it was just the alcohol.

Inside Kuroo’s room, Tsukishima quickly found himself pressed up against the wall by the door, with Kuroo holding him there as he pressed Tsukishima’s body against his own. The smell of the champagne on him felt like it was clouding Tsukishima’s vision, he could clearly see every detail on Kuroo’s face, his perfectly smooth lips, the way his messy bangs hung in front of his face, casting a slight shadow, and the way his eyes had that almost lustful, hungry look in them.

“Tsukki.” He spoke again, his voice in a hush, breathy whisper as he brought his face closer to Tsukishima, kissing up and down his neck. Tsukishima could feel him bite down on the tender, sensitive part of his neck every few seconds, getting him to moan as he felt Kuroo run his tongue over it. Fuck, why was this so hot?

Tsukishima immediately started messing with the buttons on Kuroo’s shirt, placing his fingers on the gold (seriously?) buttons and undoing them one by one. Kuroo’s tie was already off, leaving more of his skin exposed than normal as Tsukishima ran his fingers up and down his smooth muscles. Tsukishima wished there was more that he could do right now, he wished that he could kiss up and down Kuroo’s neck, all over his abs and down his stomach, he wished he could touch his muscles and run his fingers through that messy hair, he wished that he could make Kuroo feel the way Kuroo was making him feel, but he couldn’t. 

He was pretty sure Kuroo knew that he was thinking this, the way he would bring his head up from kissing him, tilt Tsukishima’s head with his fingers, and then plant a gentle kiss on his lips, he was teasing him, and he damn well knew he was doing a good job at it. He knew he was already driving Tsukishima wild.

“You know, I was going to ask you if you wanted to top tonight, but I don’t think I can allow that, you’re far too cute right now. Champagne tastes really good on you.” Kuroo kissed Tsukishima again, this time letting his lips linger as his fingers worked on Tsukishima’s shirt. It was like he had it down to an art form, the way his fingers would softly glaze over the buttons of his shirt, it was like they were barely touching them, and just with a small flick of his fingers, he was able to undo each button with ease.

“You’re drunk.” Tsukishima croaked out, Kuroo certainly did have a way with words, such a way that Tsukishima was already certain that he could feel that bulge in his pants tightening. 

“Am not, I’m just a little tipsy, Tsukki.” That might have been the truth, Tsukishima had never seen Kuroo drunk before, but for all he knew, the guy might have actually been a really good drunk, someone that could down bottle after bottle and still be considered ‘sober’. “Things are always better when you’re drunk, you feel things better.” That sounded like something that someone who was drunk would say, but to Tsukishima’s surprise, his words weren’t slurred at all, they were slow and seductive, like always.

“Oh, do you?” Tsukishima decided to try his hand at provoking Kuroo, he had only had half a glass to drink tonight, and he knew he was nowhere near over the amount of alcohol he could take in. He already was starting to get used to Kuroo and his life style, so why not have some more fun with this?

Kuroo smirked at him, as if he knew what he was doing, like he caught on to his attempt to flirt with him. It was like a repeat of what happened last night, Tsukishima struggled to catch his breath as he found himself with his back against the silk sheets of the mattress, as Kuroo towered over him, so close this time that his bangs were tickling Tsukishima’s face.

This time, Tsukishima felt impulsive, maybe it was just the way Kuroo looked at him, or the way that he was constantly provoking him, but Tsukishima decided to place his hands on Kuroo’s face before he had a chance to move, pulling the bedhead as close to him as possible and kissing him, long passionate, and getting both of them to feel that hot feeling, that feeling that made them feel like they were both on fire. Oh, what Tsukishima would give right now to feel Kuroo touching him. He really had no choice but to blame these feelings on the alcohol, and right now he would accept that. It was the alcohol, right?

“Tsukki.” Kuroo called out again, placing his hand on the side of Tsukishima’s face, as if he was caressing him, his nails lightly pricking Tsukishima’s skin, sending a chill all over his body.

Kuroo positioned himself on his knees, crawling off of the bed and removing what little remained of his clothing. The buttons on Tsukishima’s shirt were all completely undone now, giving him the time to wiggle out of it as Kuroo walked across the room. His pants soon followed after that as they hit the floor, exposing his legs that he knew Kuroo was oh so fond of. He thought for a small moment that he could see a snicker on Kuroo’s face as he watched him, making his way over to the drawer.

“You know.” Kuroo began as he opened up one of the drawers, and Tsukishima slid his glasses off his face and laid them on the night stand. “I didn’t tell you this last night, but that was the best fuck I’ve ever had.”

“And I bet you say that to everyone you’ve slept with.” Tsukishima chuckled to himself slightly, as if he made a subtle joke.

“Well of course, but I actually meant it with you.” Kuroo smirked, and Tsukishima couldn’t help but think of how Kuroo was such a good sweet talker. Tsukishima figured he was probably one of those guys that could talk his way out of a traffic ticket, and given how terrible he was at driving, that was probably the case.

“Well, unfortunately for you, I’m not so easy.” 

“Oh, I know, Tsukki.” Kuroo sat back over on the bed, with the last of his clothing being removed and his body now right on top of Tsukishima’s. 

He wasted no time in teasing Tsukishima, placing one hand on the thigh of his leg and the other on his chest, lightly using his nails and clawing his way up and down the sensitive skin. Tsukishima could feel his legs start shaking every time Kuroo deliberately put more pressure on the more sensitive parts of his legs, almost getting a chuckle out of Kuroo like he was amused. Tsukishima curled his fingers against the sheets in an attempt to transfer that feeling to another part of his body, but to no avail. Kuroo’s fingers were a combination of delicate but forceful, like he was able to take notice of every inch on Tsukishima’s body and use that to his advantage. Tsukishima could feel his body start to tense from everything in the best way possible.

Tsukishima tried to keep an eyes on Kuroo’s face, (though that became rather difficult because Kuroo’s hands were rather distracting at the moment), it looked like his eyes were scanning over Tsukishima, from his face, to his chest, to his legs, watching how it made Tsukishima react, like he was getting pleasure out of knowing he could make Tsukishima feel this way. It didn’t take him long for Tsukishima to notice that Kuroo’s eyes were fixated on a specific location on his body, his ‘lower’ region, to put it lightly.

“Looks like someone’s ready.” Kuroo teased, taking his index finger of the hand that was trailing all over Tsukishima’s chest and lightly sliding it down to Tsukishima’s boxers, flipping up the edge of them. Tsukishima could start to feel his body grow cold from the air in the room. “Hey, Tsukki, say that thing to me again.” Kuroo whispered in a almost sweet voice, cooing into Tsukishima’s ear, as if he knew he could get what he wanted.

“What thing?” Tsukishima raised his head off of the bed, his legs still shaking as Kuroo continued to not leave them alone.

“You know, that….. thing…. you said….. a few….. hours ……. ago, …. that thing….. about….. liking….. me.” Kuroo drew out his words much slower and much longer than normal, letting the words slowly loiter on his tongue before he moved on to the next one, his nails also moving just as slow. Damn this boy, damn him! Tsukishima already knew he was way too involved with a guy like him, and he was already in far too deep, almost like he was wrapped about Kuroo’s finger, or maybe it was the other way around.

“I don’t remember saying that.” Tsukishima tried to play it off, though he knew there was no used to it, Kuroo already had him deep in his clutches.

“That’s funny, because I certainly do. You want to know what’s even funnier?” Kuroo finally stopped with his hands, making Tsukishima’s body shiver slightly from the lack of contact. He was pretty sure that Kuroo caught on to that little whine that escaped his lips too.

“I don’t, but I think you’re going to tell me.” He said almost sarcastically.

“Right you are, Tsukki.” Kuroo leaned his head down, bringing his lips close to Tsukishima’s ear, so close that Tsukishima could feel his warm breath hitting his neck. “I like you. Do you like me too?”

Tsukishima felt his face freeze. ‘Like’. What did that even mean? Like as a person? Like as a friend? Like as a sex partner? Like what exactly? Though, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Kuroo that, because he knew exactly what kind of reaction that would get.

Tsukishima tried to tell himself to keep quiet, that eventually Kuroo would just go back to teasing him, and that they would forget about this whole thing in the morning. You heard about this kind of thing happening all the time when people have drunk sex. (Or in this case ‘tipsy’ sex.) Usually one person confesses their feelings, the other confesses back, then they either both get hurt or forget about it in a few hours, with any luck, this would be the ladder, because Tsukishima wasn’t exactly looking for the former right now.

But, despite his best efforts to remain like an emotionless rock, he couldn’t stop his lips from moving on their own.

“I like you too.” He mumbled, instantly biting down on his tongue as soon as those words reached his ears. What did he just say?

“What?” Kuroo lifted his head up, blinking his eyes several times in disbelief. The look on his face said that he didn’t expect to get any kind of answer at all out of the blonde, but still, here they were.

“I said I like you too.” Tsukishima spoke again, with just as much regret, turning his head to the side as he felt his face heat up.

The room remained quiet for what felt like a few more minutes, with Tsukishima finally getting up the strength to turn his head back to look at Kuroo. He was expecting to see a smile on the bedheads face, or that same look of disbelief, but what he got was something he didn’t expect.

Those soft lips met Tsukishima’s one more time, as if he was waiting for this moment. They were still just as passionate as they always had been, but this time there was a feeling of sincerity with them, like a long loving kiss instead of the usually rough and forceful one. To Tsukishima, Kuroo seemed like the forceful, sloppy kiss type of person, but he was wrong.

“Tsukki, let’s do it.” Kuroo smirked, bringing his lips away from Tsukishima’s, as his hands quickly ventured south and removed the last piece of Tsukishima’s clothes. It was clear that Kuroo got the answer he wanted, and more so, he got the motivation and passion he needed to continue what he was doing.

“I thought that’s what we were already doing!” Tsukishima couldn’t help but be snarky, as he rolled over, as if it was just a natural reaction, he could hear the sounds of Kuroo already opening up the lube and sliding on the condom. It was like a wave or rush of excitement began to course through Tsukishima, maybe it was just from Kuroo or the slight alcohol, but his body felt like it was ten times more attentive to everything around him right now, from everything to Kuroo’s voice, to how Kuroo touched him, to the way his own body reacted to being touched by Kuroo, everything felt that much more desirable. 

Tsukishima could feel Kuroo’s stomach pressed up against his back, they were in exactly the same position they were in the previous night, with one of Kuroo’s hands wrapped around Tsukishima’s stomach, holding him close, while the other stroked the outside of his thigh. Tsukishima found that his legs were completely useless by this point, and he had to almost lean into Kuroo to support himself, not that he minded, both him and Kuroo seemed to be enjoying themselves tonight.

There were several things that came into Tsukishima’s mind right now, Kuroo was amazing, the best sex of his life, the man that would probably be the end of him, all of those described him perfectly well, but they still didn’t seem to do the bedhead justice. 

The way Kuroo made Tsukishima feel things he never felt for the first time, the way he knew just what to say and when to say it to get Tsukishima feeling crazy, the way he slid himself into Tsukishima and wasted no time in ‘getting down to business’. It wasn’t a quick fuck; it was the best fuck. Kuroo was pretty much like a god right now, in Tsukishima’s mind at least.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo whispered in his ear, in his usual soft and slow tone. This was that moment again where time felt like it stood still, it had been hours, Tsukishima knew that for a fact, his body was on fire, and he wanted to stay like this forever. But more than anything, he wanted to feel Kuroo touching him and hearing his voice forever. Maybe he would get lucky and this ‘arrangement’ never would come to an end.

“Kuroo. I’m-“ Tsukishima could feel himself gritting his teeth, as Kuroo moved the hand that was on his thigh, and entangled in Tsukishima’s hair, pulling the blonde closer than he already was to the bedhead.

“I know, Tsukki. Cum for me.” By now, Tsukishima was sure Kuroo said those words far too many times, but his body seemed all too happy to comply. Maybe it was just the gilt thing in the back of Tsukishima’s mind, knowing that he felt like he owed Kuroo something, Kuroo said he didn’t, but Tsukishima knew he wanted to do something for him, and if this was that something, then he was more than happy to oblige. 

 

“Tsukki.” Kuroo lightly stroked the side of Tsukishima’s face with his hand. After getting cleaned up, the two of them collapsed on the bed, the silk sheets covering up the lower half of their bodies. “I like you.”

“You already said that. At least five times in the past minute.” 

Tsukishima was slightly struggling to make out the individual features on Kuroo’s face right now, most likely just from how tired he was. The slight sunset that peaked in through the windows when they first arrived into Kuroo’s room was now replaced with pitch darkness, the only light in the room being the comfort and warmth of the electric fire place, that Kuroo never did seem to turn off. It cast a slight orange and yellow color on Kuroo’s back, to Tsukishima’s amusement, that somehow that made his back muscles look more defined. “I know, but I like you.” Right now, Kuroo felt and looked like a little kid, an exhausted little kid. The way he struggled to keep his eyes opened, and the way he reached out and touched Tsukishima, his hair hiding half his face, Tsukishima felt ashamed to admit how cute he looked.

Tsukishima sighed, he had said it to himself before, but by now he was realizing that he was already in too deep. He didn’t hate Kuroo, but just because you don’t hate something doesn’t mean you like it. For instance, Tsukishima didn’t hate pizza, it was just a convenient food he would get every time he ate lunch in the university cafeteria, but he wouldn’t say it was his favorite either. 

Despite how hard he tried, Kuroo still did creep him out slightly, maybe it was just from not knowing him, he did just meet him yesterday, but the way he would always flirt with him, it was something Tsukishima was not used to. Although, he did get to see a new side of Kuroo today, a comfortable side, maybe it was just from Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa being there, but it made Kuroo not seem like such an asshole.

For Tsukishima, ‘like’ was a bit of a hard word to define, he never really considered himself to like or care about much. He still couldn’t tell what he thought of Kuroo, he had only known him for a day, but his need for money was too much right now for him to be picky. Was does it mean to like someone anyway?

Tsukishima could feel Kuroo rubbing the lower part of his back, right above where the sheets ended on his body, as if he was eagerly awaiting an answer. Tsukishima knew he couldn’t keep doing this, crumbling under Kuroo, he needed to be forceful, be the one in charge from time to time. Like Bokuto and Akaashi, for them, it didn’t look like one person was in control of their relationship, and sure, they were dating, and not just a sugar daddy thing, but if Tsukishima was going to survive the next year or so with Kuroo, he needed to make this go both ways.

As if he had no other choice, or maybe he just felt that way, Tsukishima bit down on his lip and mumbled. “I don’t like you.”

“Liar! I know what that means, that means you like me.” Kuroo’s voice was just a breathy whisper by this point, as if he was about to pass out and fall asleep. By this point it was almost as if Kuroo had picked up on the snarky side of Tsukishima’s personality, he learned that his insults and how cold he was being were more like a defense mechanism than anything else.

“No it doesn’t.” Even while he was half asleep, Kuroo still managed to tease Tsukishima. You can’t like someone in a day, and Tsukishima knew this relationship wouldn’t last, so at least he could do was have some fun with it. He hated lying, but maybe if it was just a half-lie it wouldn’t be so bad. “Maybe I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I originally planned, but here it is! For this story I wanted to try to write Oikawa less bitchy and whiney as I have written him in the past, haha. Next chapter Tsukishima might actually go back to school, and the plot starts.


	4. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima finally goes back to school, where he had lunch with his childhood best friend, Yamaguchi. Later Kuroo and Tsukishima are met with a desperate Oikawa who needs a favor.

“Tsukki! Where have you been?” A vaguely high-pitched, familiar voice echoed out towards Tsukishima as he sat down in the cafeteria. 

It had been awhile, or what felt like awhile. Tsukishima had been missing more and more classes recently, his perfect attendance record was bound to be ruined by this point, he thought it was a miracle that he was still passing his classes. From what once was going to every class every week, turning into missing class for days and days on end, and then to only showing up for one class a day, he didn’t intend for it to be this way, but sometimes life happens. And by ‘life’, he meant Kuroo Tetsurou.

He wasn’t intentionally skipping to have more time with Kuroo, it just sort of ended up that way, a small morning conversation, a light kiss, a quick fuck on his leather couch, and the whole day was wasted. It was like that feeling where you could feel yourself changing, but instead of doing something about it, you welcome it and keep moving forward. That’s what Tsukishima felt like, like he was just moving forward with Kuroo. It had been a few weeks now and nothing had changed, they would fuck, Kuroo would flirt and Tsukishima would make half-snarky comments, then Kuroo would buy Tsukishima some new clothes, and indulge him more and more into his life style, but that was it. Tsukishima was at this point, just a college kid living the rich life, and skipping classes. Except for today that is.

Tsukishima was determined not to skip his classes today, it felt like it had been so long, and by now the amount of papers he had to turn in were piling up. Not that he had any problem doing them, Tsukishima has always been really diligent when it came to doing schoolwork, ever since he was a little kid, he would come home from school and immediately start working on it, wanting to get it done as soon as possible. That was one of the many perks of going to school in the twenty-first century, all your work was pretty much done online now, you didn’t even have to go to class to get or turn in your assignments. And with the help of the new laptop Kuroo got him, Tsukishima found that his grades weren’t suffering nearly as much as he thought they would be.

Tsukishima was grateful to Kuroo though, not just for the new laptop, new phone, new clothes, new everything, (and the sex), but he even had his ‘friend’ who works at the university pull some strings to ensure that Tsukishima didn’t fail. Tsukishima was sure he was just doing it to make him more comfortable, since Tsukishima was pretty much on edge for the entire first week they knew each other, and he was pretty sure that Kuroo’s mentally was ‘if Tsukishima is on edge, then we can’t have sex’, or something like that. But why was Kuroo still being so nice to him? Normally, having sex with a complete stranger is the most awkward part, after that, everything should be easy, so why wasn’t it? Why did Tsukishima still feel somewhat on edge around Kuroo?

Regardless of all that though, Kuroo did drop him off today, and assured him he would pick him up when his classes were done. Which is what brought him to lunch time. The regular busy hustle of people flooding in and out of the cafeteria, with most people eating pizza or a burger, as they usually sat in cliques around the cafeteria. It looked just like it had several weeks ago, nothing had changed. Not that he expected it to. Tsukishima used the monthly money his family gave him to buy one single slice of pizza today, like he usually did. Getting pizza was always usually the fasted option, sometimes he would wait in line to get a burger, but that usually takes no less than ten minutes, and Tsukishima found himself rarely in the mood to wait that long for something that would taste so mediocre. Not to mention, the actual food part of the cafeteria was always crowded with people standing in line, he didn’t really like the feeling of being surrounded so closely by all these people to begin with. So having to endure it just for a burger, it wasn’t worth it in Tsukishima’s eyes.

He knew he could have had more to eat if he just asked Kuroo for some money, which he already knew the bedhead would say yes to; he seemed to have more money than he knew what to do with, sparing no expense on buying Tsukishima anything and everything that the blonde wanted, even his now top of the line computer and cell phone were far too extravagant, so he knew food wouldn’t be out of the question for someone like Kuroo. He always seemed far too happy to buy Tsukishima stuff whenever they went out. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to ask for money, for multiple reasons. One of those reasons being that he didn’t want to rely on Kuroo, the sex was great, and Kuroo bought him things, and that was the end of their relationship, or at least, that’s how Tsukishima intended to keep it.

He felt so out of place though, he had to be the only person in here who was wearing designer clothes, even the new shoes that Kuroo bought him the other day seemed to shine against the floor, needless to say, it made him feel very uncomfortable. This was more of a community college than a University, most people here were normal students who came from normal middle class families, which was probably why it was so easy for him to get in. Looking at himself now, he wondered if he was even the same person that he was a few weeks ago?

But, despite all that, his best friend still seemed to recognize him, Yamaguchi Tadashi. The two of them had been best friends since they were kids, as Yamaguchi almost serving as the voice of reason in Tsukishima’s life. He seemed like he followed him everywhere, from grade school, to high school, and now to college, it was like Yamaguchi was always taking care of Tsukishima.

They originally met when Tsukishima (accidentally) stood up to some bullies for Yamaguchi. He didn’t mean to originally, but Tsukishima never did understand the point of being a bully. People that have a need to show off how big and tough they are are just annoying, Tsukishima knew that and meant that. And somehow ever since that day, Yamaguchi began following him around. Tsukishima didn’t hate him, and Yamaguchi seemed like one of a very few people that wouldn’t get overly offended when Tsukishima would tell him to shut up, so you could sort of say that’s what started their friendship.

His best smiled at him, sitting across from him at the quiet table in the back of the cafeteria. Yamaguchi did always have an innocent, pleasant face, with freckles sprinkling his nose, and a few stray brown hairs sticking out of the top of his head, nothing compared to Kuroo’s bedhead though. He wore a green sweater with a dark purple stripe in the middle of it going sideways, which made Tsukishima feel like he stuck out ten times more in his designer jeans, plain white shirt, and leather jacket. (Which Kuroo happily insisted he wear after hearing on the weather that it would be chilly today), it was two sizes too big, but somehow it made Tsukishima feel warm and comfortable. He couldn’t decide if that made him happy or pissed him off, it was strange how those two feelings were often the same.

“You don’t have to yell, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima sighed as he looked at his best friend, he was already mentally preparing himself for what he was sure was going to be a lecture about his current life. He was waiting for the barrage of ‘where have you been?’, ‘where did you get your new clothes?’, ‘you seem different now, Tsukki’ questions that Yamaguchi was sure to have. His best friend sure did love to talk a lot.

“Sorry, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi chuckled it off, resting a hand on the back of his head. “I just feel like I haven’t seen you in a month. Where have you been?” And let the questions begin. Tsukishima thought briefly about lying to him, he knew very well that Yamaguchi wouldn’t believe the ‘family emergency’ lie he told to his professors, but he was sure he could come up with something convincing if he gave it enough thought. Yamaguchi would be kind of gullible and knew exactly when and when not to pry for more information. Of course, he did have a feeling that Yamaguchi would still be able to see through that. You don’t call someone your best friend without them at least being able to know when you’re lying half the time. And it wasn’t like lying would really do much right now anyways. If anything, with how Yamaguchi always hung around Tsukishima, he would find out sooner or later.

As if he just decided to skip the beating around the bush, Tsukishima sighed in annoyance, as if he could feel a headache coming on. “You know that website ‘The Lion’s Den’? The one that everyone in class was talking about a few months ago?” Tsukishima really couldn’t believe he was about to do this. He normally was one to never give out information, but Yamaguchi had always been an exception, one of the few people that could actually get Tsukishima to talk.

“You mean the one that guarantees it can make people money, but nobody knows what it actually does?”

“Yeah, that one. I may or may not have given it a try.” Tsukishima was sure that would be enough to fuel Yamaguchi’s desire to know what was going on in his life. He had always been the nosy type, if Tsukishima even sighed slightly differently from normal, Yamaguchi was on it.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi yelled out again, it was a tone of half yelling and half being in shock. Good thing the cafeteria was already so nosy that no one else was able to pick up on it. “So you mean you have money now? That explains your new clothes and why you’ve been skipping classes, so what does it do? You’re not smuggling drugs, are you?” Yamaguchi’s voice seemed to go on and on, as his tone got higher and higher, he always had been the type of person who would only hear half the story, and then make up in his head how he thought the rest of the story ended, and this was no different.

“No.” Tsukishima kept his tone bland, as if he was trying to pull Yamaguchi off of his hyper mood. “It’s actually just a normal sugar daddy style site, they match you up with some rich twenty-something, and they give you a place to stay, food, clothes, whatever you want in exchange for sexual favors.” Tsukishima said as if it was the most normal thing ever, like they were talking about the weather, completely giving full disregard to the look of hysteria on Yamaguchi’s face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hung open, it made him look like he was feint hearted and about to pass out from shock.

“What?” That was about the reaction Tsukishima was expecting, voice high and in disbelief.

Tsukishima was pretty sure he came off to everyone as quiet and reserved, the kind that keeps to himself, studies, and doesn’t go to parties, and they were right. Tsukishima had only slept with one other guy before Kuroo, and that was mainly just a drunken one-night-stand, and a way to get rid of his virgin status, because when you’re in college, no one wants to be a virgin anymore. It came as no surprise that Yamaguchi would have this reaction, everyone would probably have this reaction, hell, even Tsukishima was probably still having this reaction.

“So is that why you’ve been skipping class?” The high-pitched tone in Yamaguchi’s voice still remained as he started to grasp what his best friend just told him. “So who’s the lucky lady?” Another question that Tsukishima was sadly expecting, he had told Yamaguchi about his one-night-stand, but didn’t mentioned to him the gender of the other person, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that he assumed it was a girl. Tsukishima almost felt bad for making his best friend freak out the way he was. Tsukishima wouldn’t necessarily say he liked to do things the easy way, just the way that would inconvenience the least amount of people, and this, this was definitely inconveniencing Yamaguchi.

“A guy, actually.” Tsukishima looked away, he didn’t want to see the look on Yamaguchi’s face, so he just looked at the alternating brown and gray tiles on the floor, thinking about the best way to avoid Yamaguchi yelling, or how to not destroy this conversation.

Tsukishima waited for what felt like a good thirty seconds or more before he turned his head back to Yamaguchi, who to his surprise, wasn’t saying anything. It was so unlike him, like he was just stuck there, frozen. Giving Tsukishima no choice but to come up with something to say to get him to come back down to earth again. And of course, the one thing that was still on his mind, was Kuroo.

“His name is Kuroo Tetsurou, he’s twenty-three, a retired athlete, and now works at his father’s company doing, well, I don’t even know.” That seemed to do the trick, Yamaguchi was breathing again, face full of life, as he waited eagerly to process what Tsukishima was saying.

“Tsukki, that’s amazing! So, this explains everything! What’s he like? Tall? Attractive? Good in bed? Good kisser? Does he have a brother?” Yamaguchi winked as he continued to ramble. Unlike Tsukishima, who had kept his sexuality hidden from his friends and family, Yamaguchi was undoubtedly gay, and he had expressed that several times in the past to Tsukishima. He even remembered that once when they were rooming together the first year of college, Yamaguchi brought someone home with him from a party, which was how Tsukishima found out in the first place. Yamaguchi had such an innocent face, but his face and personality didn’t match at all.

“Calm down, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima could feel the excitement radiating from his best friends’ voice, but first and foremost he needed him to stop being so fervent about all of this. “He’s above average, I guess. We’ve only been sleeping together for a few weeks, he lives in a penthouse, and we did tell each other that we like each other.” Tsukishima didn’t mean to say that last part, but when thinking of identifying things that Kuroo and him have done, that was the first thing that came to mind. All they really did was sex and shopping, so he was already limited on what he could say, and the last thing he wanted right now was someone to overhear them, so talking about the sex seemed like the better option.

“What?! You guys like each other?” Yamaguchi almost jumped up from the table in a fit of exhilaration.

“No, I just told him I didn’t hate him, and that if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t have stayed over the first night. Then the other night he told me he liked me, and that was it.”

“Sounds to me like he likes you, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi beamed, almost teasing him. Tsukishima hated when he got like that, making him scowl and click his tongue as he tried to come up with something to say. It was always so hard to retort against Yamaguchi, normal tactics didn’t work on him, so he always had to do some extra thinking.

“I think you’re just imagining it. We have a special arrangement, sex for financial stability. If anything, this probably won’t last any longer than a year.”

“Well yeah, with that attitude. But if he likes you, you should try to be more open around him. How often will you meet a guy like that? Are you going to tell anyone else about him?”

As if he had just been dealt a death blow, Tsukishima froze in place, a lot like how Yamaguchi did a few moments ago. When he thought about Kuroo, his mind always did become clouded with thoughts of him. He never had any intention to tell anyone, Kuroo was just his way of making money right now, like working at a restaurant or a store. Albeit, a very weird store that only serves Kuroo and is forced to operate twenty-four hours, but still, the point still stands. He only decided to tell Yamaguchi because he knew how his best friend could be. But, he never intended to tell anyone else, especially his family.

In Tsukishima’s mind, Kuroo was free to tell and do what he pleases, it’s not like they had any real connection outside of sex, (even though Kuroo seemed to think so), the two seemed to lead completely different lives, and be a part of two completely different circles of society. A guy like Kuroo is a show-off, the type who there was no doubt that he would tell his friends about Tsukishima, and for the most part, Tsukishima didn’t care. Hell, Tsukishima had already seen that Kuroo told Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa about him. But what he did care about was people who he personally knew finding out, mainly, his family.

Tsukishima went to college in Tokyo knowing damn well that he was sure to have some new, interesting life experiences. His family in the country side of Japan was always on the slightly conservative side, he never opened up to them about his sexuality, not that he really knew what his sexuality was in high school, but he had a feeling that if they knew what he was doing now, or ‘who’ he was doing, that they would not approve. Not that anyone’s parents would really approve of someone doing something that was basically just a few steps away from prostitution. And Tsukishima hated that most of all. Maybe it was just the dreadful feeling that most people don’t want to do something that their parents didn’t approve of, but when Tsukishima thought about his parents finding out about him and Kuroo, he got a knot in his stomach, worse than the knot he would sometimes get when he was in the same room as Kuroo. This one was different, almost like a bad omen, like something that couldn’t be relieved with a kiss from the bedhead.

When Tsukishima thought about it, it was more conflicting than anything else. Did he like Kuroo? Maybe. His parents were miles and miles away, so it wasn’t like they would find this out anytime soon, and Tsukishima wasn’t exactly prepared to go back to living in that dingy apartment he was in before. Maybe he was just growing more comfortable around Kuroo; outside of Yamaguchi, no one else really knew anything about him. Deep down Tsukishima already had an idea of why he was feeling the way he was feeling; he just couldn’t admit it to himself yet. He didn’t want his parents to find out, but he didn’t want to ruin what he had with Kuroo, so he would have to shut up and hope they never make a surprise visit to Tokyo.

“Of course not!” Tsukishima didn’t mean to raise his voice the way that he did, maybe it was just subtle anxiety that made him act this way. “You know how my parents are. It wouldn’t exactly be an easy thing to tell them I’m gay, it would be even harder to tell them I’m gay and that I have a ‘sugar daddy’. Even if Kuroo was a girl, I don’t think I would be able to tell them.” Tsukishima still cringed at that word, if only there was a nicer way of saying someone who you have sex with in exchange for financial support. 

“That’s true.” Yamaguchi was what you would call a careful friend, the kind of person who would pry and ask questions, but knew what not to say at certain times; you could see it on his face that he was very aware of the annoyance in Tsukishima already, and probably didn’t want to tempt fate by prying into him anymore. “Are you leaving soon?” Perfect time to change the subject.

“Yeah, Kuroo should be picking me up in about twenty minutes.” Somehow, it felt like Tsukishima lost his appetite, as he stared down at the pizza on his plate, it was like he wasn’t hungry anymore. Tsukishima was never one to eat much anyway, but today, his stomach was feeling exceptionally empty.

“Can I meet him?” Yamaguchi had a pleasant smile, that almost made him look eager as Tsukishima fiddled with his school bag, making sure it was tightly secured as he stood up from the table. Maybe he would just get an early start on waiting for Kuroo in the school parking lot.

He thought about telling him no, but knowing Yamaguchi, he would probably then just quietly stalk him from a bush or something. “Fine.” Tsukishima pouted, there was a sort of uneasiness that came with your best friend meeting your boyfriend. Wait, boyfriend?

Tsukishima threw his pizza away in the cafeteria trash can, as Yamaguchi and him made their way out into the parking lot in front of the building. It was already past two in the afternoon, a little late for lunch, Tsukishima always liked eating at that time because it was slightly less crowded than any other time. He could always get the peace and quiet that he needed while he tried to study or think about who knows what while he ate.

All the cars in the parking lot were very noticeable, most of them were just your various, old, beat-up cars people would buy from a cheap junk lot. Any car for college is useable, I guess. The only thing that stood out were the professors cars at the other end of the lot, practical, they had their own section that they parked in, and most of them being some form of SUV’s, or mini-vans, something that most people over the age of forty have as vehicles. The only other car in the parking lot was, as he suspected, a black sports car.

“Tsukki, you should have all of your classes end around this time, there’s like no one here.” Kuroo held out his arms as if he was waiting for Tsukishima to embrace him in a hug, as he leaned up against the hood of his car. How long had been here waiting for him?

“Oh, he’s cute.” Yamaguchi leaned in, whispering in Tsukishima’s ear as he stood behind him, almost like he was using Tsukishima as a shield with how tall he was. He could see a smirk appear on Kuroo’s face, as if he heard that.

“Must you park your car right in front? You already draw enough attention to yourself as it is, can’t you park a block away or something?” Maybe Tsukishima was still annoyed from his conversation with Yamaguchi, but he found himself coming off as colder than usually. His tone was still bland and emotionless, but the scowl on his face and in his eyes was already apparent as he cocked his head to Kuroo, who still had a look of amusement on his face. He really did like riling Tsukishima up, doing things on purpose just to get a reaction out of the blonde, most of the time, that reaction was one of anger and irritation.

“Tsukki, I’m wounded.” Kuroo placed his hand over his heart and chuckled in a fake manner. “I know, give me a kiss and I’ll forgive you.” He winked, bring his hands back into that waiting for hug embrace.

“I’m not kissing you in front of my university.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

“Ooh, does that mean I get a kiss when we get back home?”

“I never said that.” Why must Kuroo always be like this? Couldn’t he be normal and just let Tsukishima pile his bag into his car and drive off like a normal person? Did everything have to be so ostentatious with him all the time?

“I should go, I have a class that starts in twenty minutes.” Yamaguchi placed his hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder as he whispered to him, this time low enough where only Tsukishima could hear. It served as a nice distraction thought, reminding Tsukishima that he was here. “You go have fun with your sugar daddy.” 

Tsukishima was quickly fighting the urge to yell at Yamaguchi, as he snapped his head around to look at his best friend, that was definitely loud enough where Kuroo could here; his best friend certainly did have a way with words, but he was quickly interrupted by the feeling of Kuroo’s chest against his face; he had been pushed.

Yamaguchi lightly used that hand he had on Tsukishima’s back to push him forward a few feet, right into Kuroo. Yamaguchi wasn’t strong by any means, but even the weakest of shoves can still make you stumble a few feet forward if you’re not expecting it, in this case, a few feet forward was directly into Kuroo.

Overcome by feelings of annoyance and warmth, Tsukishima was now shorter than him once again, as his head leaned into Kuroo’s chest, while Kuroo wrapped his arms around him. Kuroo was warm, like always, it looked like he finally got that hug he wanted. Tsukishima looked up at Kuroo, that same smug smirk still on his face as he felt him lightly rub his back through his clothes. It seemed like all of Tsukishima’s troubles and everything on his mind vanished as he looked at that Cheshire grin. Damn Kuroo’s perfect face.

“Tsukki, if you wanted to get this close to me, all you had to do was ask.” Kuroo teased him, he blew a slight kiss towards Tsukishima’s face, making Tsukishima blush as he felt the cool air from his breath.

He positioned himself forward again, back on his own feet as he adjusted his glasses, which had slightly turned crooked when he was pushed. He didn’t say anything, because he knew whatever he said would probably result in Kuroo making another pass at him, not that he would have minded that all that much. He just kept quiet and piled his stuff into Kuroo’s car, throwing his bag in the back seat and sitting in the passenger side, catching a small glimpse of Yamaguchi as he walked down the sidewalk. He couldn’t see his face clearly, but he knew there had to be a smile on it, you don’t do something like Yamaguchi just did without smiling.

“Was that your friend?” Kuroo sat in the driver’s seat, motioned towards Yamaguchi, who was now making his way down the sidewalk as he walked towards his next class.

“Yeah, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima kept his voice low and bland, as he stared out the passenger side window, he could clearly see Kuroo’s reflection along with his, Kuroo was staring at him, he felt like his eyes were piercing into him through the glass. His dark brown eyes kept looming over him, refusing to let up as if they were trying to get his attention.

“He seemed nice.” He couldn’t tell if Kuroo was being serious or sarcastic, it was clear that he was already fond of Yamaguchi, mainly because he had got Tsukishima to run into him like he did. “How was school today?” Kuroo kept that same tone as he started the car, driving off through the almost empty parking lot.

“It was fine.” It was almost strange to have a normal conversation with Kuroo like this, like they were a normal couple. It almost reminded Tsukishima of the small talk him and his older brother would have when they were kids.

Every few seconds Tsukishima would catch Kuroo glancing over at him, smiling, it made Tsukishima feel even more on edge, he had a habit of always losing his calm around Kuroo, he would always be impulsive, jumping to kiss him, letting himself stay close to him, his whole mind was always a mess around the bedhead. Making him even more pissed off because of it.

Kuroo was in a suit, like he always seemed to be whenever they went out, this time it was light gray instead of the usual black, he even had sun glasses on as he drove the seemingly short distance from the university to his penthouse apartment. Tsukishima even found himself staring at Kuroo, maybe it was just the way Kuroo looked at him, even with the sun glasses on his eyes were still perfectly visible, constantly lurking over him, and almost cat-like. Whatever the reason, Tsukishima couldn’t stop himself from staring back at the bedhead.

“You’re cute, Tsukki.” As if Kuroo caught on to him staring, he was provoking him, succeeding in getting a scowl out of the blonde.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him, he really did piss him off when he got like this. As if a tall, lanky blonde guy who looked permanently pissed off could ever be cute.

It had only been a few weeks, but he could already see Kuroo’s rhythm when it came to flirting, he was a weird combination between passionate and forceful, constantly flirting in attempt to make Tsukishima feel good as he would make passes at him. It was different behavior than Tsukishima was used to, and he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it. Which is where his impulsiveness came in, causing him to just make out with Kuroo as a forced reaction. It probably pissed Tsukishima off the most that that was his bodies only reaction, don’t retort, just kiss him. What kind of reaction was that anyways? And why was Tsukishima so willing to act that way?

“Don’t be so naïve, Tsukki. That means I think you’re cute, and that I-“ Tsukishima could already see where this was going, Kuroo had pulled that line on him way too many times before. 

He would feed him a ‘I like you, Tsukki’, or a ‘I think you’re cute, Tsukki’ line, and then lightly run his hands up and down Tsukishima’s leg in an attempt to get him to react by kissing him. Once Tsukishima learnt Kuroo’s pattern, it was just as easy for Kuroo to learn Tsukishima’s. To learn how long it would take Tsukishima to react, what faces, and what voices worked best on the blonde, and what places he had to touch to get Tsukishima to kiss him. If anything, Tsukishima learned how much he liked having his legs touched by Kuroo, the way he would lightly trace and pinch at his inner thighs, making his legs tremble and his face turn a bright shade of red. He hated how much he liked it, but he hated even more how he hated it when Kuroo stopped doing it.

Tsukishima had learnt well by now that Kuroo liked to get him to make the first move, as if it was Kuroo’s way of knowing that he wasn’t forcing anything on Tsukishima, which he wasn’t, if Tsukishima wanted to stop doing anything sexual with him, then he would tell him no, it was important to both of them that this ‘relationship’, or whatever you want to call it, went both ways. But, that didn’t stop Kuroo from intentionally being an asshole from time to time. He knew his provoking ways would get a reaction out of Tsukishima, and that seemed to only make him want to do it more.

Buzz. Buzz.

Distracting both Kuroo and Tsukishima, a pulsating buzzing noise could be heard coming from inside Kuroo’s pocket, making the both of them stop what they were doing, not that they were doing anything other than casually staring at each other. Kuroo looked down, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone out of it, fortunately they were at a stop light. The last thing Tsukishima wanted right now was for Kuroo to have another excuse to almost kill him on the drive home.

“Oh, it’s Oikawa.” Kuroo mumbled barely loud enough for Tsukishima to hear, right before he hit the ‘answer’ option. “Hello? …. Yeah, we’re on our way back now. …. Is it that important? …. Okay, fine. We’ll be there soon…. Uh huh. …. Bye.” Only vague parts of the conversation could be heard from where Tsukishima was sitting, but it was definitely Oikawa, Tsukishima could easily pick up on his high-pitched voice from the other end, he sounded like he was yelling frantically about something, though his words were still too muffled to be heard completely.

“What did he want?” Tsukishima tried to make his voice not sound so unpleasant, he didn’t want to actually come off as annoyed right now. He wanted his voice to sound mildly curious more than anything else.

“Apparently, it’s some emergency and he needs to talk to us, he’s waiting for us back at the penthouse right now, mainly.” Kuroo sighed, as if he was the one who was actually annoyed by all of this. “He wants to talk to you.”

“To me?” Tsukishima turned his head fully towards Kuroo, looking at him interestedly. What in the world would Oikawa want with him? They really hadn’t talked much when he met him at the party the other week. Tsukishima just sort of pegged him as a ‘pretty boy’ who was kind of stuck up and slightly lonely, so what could he want with him?

Tsukishima looked at Kuroo as if he was going to give him an answer, but it was already clear by the look on Kuroo’s face that he was just as clueless as Tsukishima was in all of this. “He can be kind of impulsive at times. If I had to guess, he probably needs to talk to someone ‘normal’, he gets this way sometimes when he’s looking for inspiration for modeling. You’re probably the only non-rich person he knows.” Kuroo played it off with a slight chuckle, confusing Tsukishima even more.

“Isn’t Bokuto normal?” Tsukishima remembered vaguely from the party that they mentioned Bokuto used to be a waiter at a night club, he wasn’t quite as badly off as Tsukishima was, but certainly Bokuto wasn’t one of those people who was accustomed to the rich life before he met Akaashi. So why did it have to be him?

“Ha! Bo is far from normal!” This time Kuroo laughed loudly, as he pulled into the parking garage of the starlight hotel, he had his own spot near the front and everything, it was always cleaned off and isolated by itself from the other cars. It only made sense that being the person who lived in the penthouse that you would get special treatment.

 

“There you two are!” Not even before Kuroo and Tsukishima got their foot in the door, Oikawa was already waiting for them inside, standing in the living room section of Kuroo’s penthouse, arms crossed in front of the couch. “This is an emergency!” His voice sounded a lot more panicky than it did on the phone. How did he get in?

“Alright, calm down, Oikawa. What’s this about?” Kuroo sighed again. Tsukishima thought it was strange to see him as an almost concerned friend – almost. Normally when Kuroo wasn’t making passes at him, they were shopping or fucking, so seeing him acting as a normal human being almost felt weird to Tsukishima, and the strangest part of all, Tsukishima actually thought it made Kuroo look more attractive in his eyes. He saw part of this side of him when he was with Bokuto and Akaashi, but dismissed it at the time as just the alcohol. Was Kuroo even capable of acting like a normal person?

“I was just about to have the greatest car sex of my life.” And then Kuroo had to go and ruin everything by saying something like that. He definitely pissed Tsukishima off sometimes. “Okay.” Oikawa sighed, looking down at the floor before bringing his eyes back up to Kuroo and Tsukishima. It was like he was saying ‘this is going to be a long story’. Tsukishima wasn’t even sure how to act around him, so he just stood there and tilted his head curiously.

Despite that sigh though, none of them decided to sit down, and just waited for him to continue. Oikawa did look more on edge than he did when Tsukishima first met him, this time wearing plain jeans, and a blue designer jacket over a plain off-white colored shirt, different from the suit Tsukishima saw him wearing before, and on top of that, he was wearing glasses. If Tsukishima didn’t know any better, he probably would have mistaken him for a college student.

“I’ll try to make this quick. You remember what you said at the party about trying out that ‘Lion’s Den’ website you always go on about? Well I tried it, and it matched me up with someone. It’s Iwaizumi.” 

As if he didn’t fully register what he just said, Kuroo just stood there with his mouth open, it even took Tsukishima a minute before he realized who Iwaizumi was. Not that he was paying overly close attention to the names of the basketball players that were on the TV that night. Tsukishima wasn’t really one for watching much TV as it was, well, outside of the occasional history channel.

“Wait, Iwaizumi as in Iwaizumi Hajime, the basketball player you were practically drooling over the other day?” Kuroo put one of his hands on top of his forehead, like he was taking an extra moment to fully comprehend what he just said.

“Yeah.” As if he was slightly ashamed of it, Oikawa kept his head down, but still continuing. “You mentioned that he lived close by, and a guy like him probably wouldn’t date a model, so on a whim, I submitted an application to ‘The Lion’s Den’, and a day later I got an email from him.”

“That’s great, man!” Kuroo walked over, lightly slapping Oikawa on the back, getting the model to jump slightly, Tsukishima was still confused by this whole situation, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to say anything yet. 

But why would Oikawa put in an application? He would have had to realize that the odds of Iwaizumi seeing his application and reaching out to him were very slim, let alone, Oikawa was more attractive than your average person, a complete creeper could have totally seen his application. And Oikawa didn’t exactly need money as it is, so why did he go to such lengths for something that appeared to just be a crush?

“Isn’t that kind of risky though?” Tsukishima decided to speak up, he wasn’t exactly on acquaintance terms with Oikawa, so he was almost hesitant to say anything. “Weren’t the odds of Iwaizumi seeing your application pretty low?”

“Maybe it’s fate, like me and Tsukki.” Kuroo reached his hand back and gently grabbed a hold of Tsukishima’s wrist, pulling him forward, standing next to him as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Even in times like this, Kuroo still managed to get under his skin.

“I figured it would be risky, that’s why if I got any offers from anyone I would just decline. But that’s not the problem. The problem is that I lied, I told him in a few email exchanges that I was a broke college kid. He probably wouldn’t have been as interested if I told him I was a model. That’s why I needed to talk to Tsukki.” Oikawa lifted his head up off the floor, meeting Tsukishima’s eyes, he had a look of almost desperation in them. It wasn’t like Tsukishima couldn’t understand Oikawa, they were sort of in the same boat, but instead of money, Oikawa was already obviously pining over Iwaizumi, and it was bad.

“Why do you need to talk to me exactly? I can’t imagine I would be much help.” Tsukishima wasn’t being modest right now, he was legitimately confused, he couldn’t see how he could be any help to Oikawa right now. What did Oikawa want him to do, give him advice on how to be a broke college kid?

“I just need to ask you if you have any normal clothes, college kid clothes, stuff that’s not from designers. I want to make this as believable as possible.” Tsukishima could feel a headache coming on, as Oikawa managed to raise his voice higher than it already was, he sounded a lot like Yamaguchi right now.

It wasn’t like he didn’t have his old clothes still, they just sort of hung in the back of his closet, collecting dust. If he would even walk out of the room with them on, Kuroo would stop him, insisting on knowing why Tsukishima was wearing his old clothes if he had perfectly good new clothes he could wear. Honestly, Tsukishima just thought that Kuroo didn’t want him wearing stuff that was falling apart. Whether it being him just being considerate, or annoying. The only thing stopping him from throwing them out was the possibility that his family could come to town, and he didn’t really want to explain to them how or why his wardrobe had changed so drastically since the last time they saw him.

Tsukishima sighed, it was better to get this over with instead of harping over a bunch of questions about Oikawa’s personal life, he was just the friend of a friend, and that was it. Since when did he start considering Kuroo as a friend? 

“I think I have some, wait here.” Tsukishima loosened himself from Kuroo’s grasp and made his way to the back room, where he kept all of his clothes neatly hung up inside of Kuroo’s closet. 

And there they all still were, he wasn’t quite sure if they would fit Oikawa; Tsukishima was still taller than him by quite a few inches, but the shirts should fit him nicely. If anything, he could always have them taken to a seamstress before he went out with Iwaizumi. Let’s just consider this his one good deed of the day. Tsukishima was already in a slightly unpleasant mood from his conversation with Yamaguchi earlier, right now he just wanted to take a nap, but that didn’t look like it was going to happen any time soon.

As he gathered all of his old clothes up in his arms, Tsukishima could hear the conversation Oikawa and Kuroo were still having from the living room. Their voices were just barely loud enough to where he could clearly make out the words.

“There’s another favor I have to ask.” Oikawa’s voice was lower this time, not like he was trying to whisper, but as if he was calmed down now. “Iwaizumi booked us reservations for our date for tomorrow night at the new onsen that just opened up.”

“You mean the one that’s two blocks away from here? The one that Bo was talking about the other day?”

“Yeah, that one. I know I’ve asked a lot out of you and Tsukki today, Tetsu-chan, but if you two could follow us there, I would feel much better if anything goes wrong.”

“Hmm.” You could hear the sounds of Kuroo pondering from all the way in the bedroom, Tsukishima knew there was no use arguing with him, once Kuroo made up his mind about something there was no end to it. He was persistent if anything else. “Tsukki!” Kuroo’s voice echoed throughout the penthouse. “What time does your class end tomorrow?”

“Two o’clock.” Tsukishima sighed, today felt like it had been such a long day, and it was only Thursday. The only good thing right now was that he only had one class tomorrow, which would be over in the afternoon. 

“Great, we’re going to an onsen tomorrow night, be ready!”

“Fine!” Tsukishima had never been to an onsen before, so maybe this would be another one of those life experiences he could just sort of mark off his imaginary list while he was in Tokyo. Whatever the reason behind it was, his pissed off mood seemed to fizzle out now, he found himself feeling calm again, and the most shocking thing of all, he found himself almost looking forward to it. Why?

“Here.” Tsukishima tried to hide his recent mood change, as he handed the pile of clothes over to Oikawa, refusing to meet Kuroo’s gaze, because he knew it would just have that stupid smirk on it. He didn’t even entirely look through all the clothes before handing them to him, to make sure that they all were completely wearable. Oh well. He did keep his old pajamas though, it wasn’t like Oikawa needed all of his old wardrobe.

“Thank you.” Oikawa gave a slight polite gesture before leaving, you could tell that he was grateful.

As soon as the door shut, Kuroo slid his arms around Tsukishima’s back, returning the atmosphere to what it felt like in the car. Maybe Tsukishima’s bad mood really could go away when Kuroo touched him.

“Never would have pictured him to be so desperate.” Tsukishima breathed out, feeling himself lean into Kuroo, even through the leather jacket he was wearing, Tsukishima could still feel how warm Kuroo is.

“He’s not normally, but I think he’s in love.” Kuroo cooed in his ear, for the first time today, sending that familiar chill up Tsukishima’s spine. “But more importantly, we’re gonna have sex in a private bath.” Tsukishima could feel Kuroo rest his lips right up against his neck, they were smooth and gentle, and made his skin tingle all over, with goose bumps. 

“Is all you think of is sex?” Tsukishima struggled to turn his head to the side to look at the bedhead, not because he was avoiding him, but because he knew the moment he turned around that it would be the end of this conversation. He could already picture in his mind himself turning around and Kuroo’s lips immediately smacking up against his, the hot feeling as they both struggle to make their way to the nearest flat surface, Kuroo’s hands wandering and persistently touching Tsukishima’s legs. As much shit as Tsukishima had mentally given Kuroo for being a provoking asshole, he would be lying if he said he didn’t grow comfortably used to those hands touching him, in the best way possible.

“Actually, no. I think of you a lot too.” Kuroo teased, already planting light kisses on Tsukishima’s cheek. His lips had a sweet feeling to them as they lingered on Tsukishima’s skin, making his entire face heat up.

“Probably of just having sex with me.” Tsukishima chuckled to himself, trying his best not to give in to the man so early on, it was useless, maybe Kuroo was right and the two of them had a ‘connection’. Whenever anyone else would touch Tsukishima, whether it be Yamaguchi, his family, or that random guy he met at a party, Tsukishima never felt like this, this good, this hot. Why was it just with Kuroo?

“That’s not true, Tsukki. I told you I like you. I think about holding you, kissing you, what clothes you look good in, and now I’m going to be thinking about taking a bath with you.” What was Tsukishima supposed to say to that? Just turn around, kiss him, and fall right into his arms? That would be far too easy. But at the same time, how could he say no to something that sounded that sweet, and yet that jerk-ish. Even if he was only trying to provoke him, there was something in his voice that made it seem almost welcoming to Tsukishima.

“Have I told you how much you piss me off?” it hadn’t taken long for the snarky side of Tsukishima’s personality to take over. When he first met Kuroo he was trying to be considerate, didn’t want him to think that he was a rude bitch all the time, but now it was almost like he needed to show Kuroo how snarky he was, how sarcastic he was, if not, it would have been like he was lying to him. Like a side of his personality that he would have had to kept hidden.

“No, but I’d say if that’s the case, then I should try to piss you off more, it looks cute on you.” Tsukishima felt Kuroo slide his hands to his hips and turn him around, so they were face to face. Kuroo’s face with nothing but a look of provocation on it. He planted a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s lips as if he was teasing him.

“You’re a jerk.” Tsukishima breathed out in a sarcastic manner, he knew exactly where all of this was heading, and he knew exactly what Kuroo was going to say and do next.

“And I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, I wrote a chapter for this story that doesn't have porn in it, that probably will be pretty rare for this story, haha! I also really like the Yamaguchi as a wingman trope. Next chapter will be the onsen date.


	5. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima and Kuroo fulfill their end of the promise and go on the onsen date with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, where Tsukishima tries his best to remain determined not to give in to Kuroo that night, but finds that it's harder to do that than he originally thought.

“So this is an onsen?” Tsukishima looked over at Kuroo curiously, raising an eyebrow at the bedhead as the two of them walked into their room together.

Kuroo smirked at him, sliding the door open with glee as both him and Tsukishima walked onto the Tatami mates that seemed to litter the floor. Tsukishima had never been to a place like this before, sure, they had a few in his hometown, and he had seen them on TV and read about them in magazines, but seeing them in person for the first time was definitely a lot different. He still didn’t know what to do with himself and what quite to expect in coming here, even when Kuroo first approached him yesterday, asking him what sort of room he wanted him to book, all he could do was muster out a vague ‘just get one of the ones that looks like it does on TV’, as he would throw his hands in the air and act as disinterested as possible. Though, he wasn’t really disinterested, he was just trying not to sound like someone who had never done this before. By now, he should have been used to the life style that Kuroo thrust upon him, but he wasn’t, and he still felt guilty at times when was showing that side of him.

So, with him telling Kuroo that, he got one of the most ‘traditional’ rooms he could find. It was small, but this place just opened up not very long ago, so that was expected. It looked like it was one linear room that branched off into an area outside that had a private bath in it, it may have been a new place, but Kuroo spared no expense when it came to paying for this place, or paying for anything really. Though, it was still about three or four times the size of Tsukishima’s old, crappy apartment, leaving him plenty of room to walk around and stretch his legs and arms out as the two of them entered the room.

The walls were some color between and off-white and a light beige, with a wood framed painting of a yellow flower over on the left side of the wall. There also looked like there was a small blue colored vase sitting off to one side with an exotic plant in it, looking at it, Tsukishima couldn’t tell if it was actually real or just placed there as a decoration. There was also a small, square shaped table that sat in the middle of the room, with four blue cushioned chairs that were all just as equally low to the ground.

They were originally supposed to be here to support Oikawa, or make him more comfortable as he went on his date with Iwaizumi. Though, Tsukishima was pretty sure Kuroo was just using that as an excuse to take him to a place like this. But, if he wanted to blame someone, he could blame Iwaizumi, this was his idea after all.

When they first got here, they happened to run into Oikawa and Iwaizumi as Kuroo was checking them in. Apparently, according to Oikawa, they had just got back from going into the public bath, after Oikawa insisted that they try it together, and he even introduced Tsukishima to Iwaizumi, saying he was ‘my friend from school’. It amazed Tsukishima that he was able to pull off the naïve, convincing act so well, then again, he was a model, so maybe acting was just the next step up from that. But it clearly already looked like he had Iwaizumi wrapped around his finger, you honestly had to admire a man like that. Oikawa was driven and always went after whatever he wanted, in this case, what he wanted was Iwaizumi.

They didn’t get a chance to talk long once Kuroo entered the conversation, mainly because he was practically pushing Tsukishima in the direction of their room, insisting that the two of them go to change into their yukata right away. Tsukishima had never worn one before, and he could already hear Kuroo insisting on showing him how to wear it, giving them little time to even say bye to Oikawa as Kuroo scurried them off. Tsukishima thought it was sort of strange, especially considering that was the whole reason why they were here. But, he figured it would be better to give Oikawa and Iwaizumi the privacy they needed. Not like Kuroo and him being around them would do them that much good as it was.

Which is what brought them to where they are now, both standing in the room as Kuroo shut the door behind them. Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure what to bring with him, so he just brought his cell phone (the new one that Kuroo got him), and a small bag with some extra clothes in it. Though, they were only going to be here for one night, so it’s not like the people at the front desk didn’t already know what they were doing, or planning on doing. There’s almost a shameful feeling you get when you see the eyes of the employees looking at you, knowing you only came to a place like this for sex, it was probably all the same to them, but still. A lot like whenever they went out shopping, it always felt like all the salespeople were judging Tsukishima, making comments about him behind his back. He hated it. Sometimes he wondered if Kuroo and him could possibly just settle for a quiet date at home. Wait, date? This wasn’t a date, was it?

“You sure you don’t need my help putting that on, Tsukki?” Kuroo cooed from behind him, practically beckoning Tsukishima to give him a kiss with the way his lips pouted.

“No, I should be fine. How hard can it be?” He shrugged to himself, almost laughing.

He wouldn’t mention it, but his goal for the night was to remain as resistant as possible towards Kuroo, he had been giving into him far too much recently. Whenever Kuroo seemed to touch him, it was like he would melt, maybe it was just because he wasn’t used to having this much attention on him, let alone sexual attention, but he needed to control himself. He knew he wouldn’t be with Kuroo forever, and the last thing he needed to do right now was rely on him so much. It wasn’t fair to Kuroo or himself to do that. Plus, Tsukishima was starting to fear that he was beginning to like all of this, the sex, the clothes, the shopping, so he needed to keep himself in check, remind himself of who he was and why he was here.

“Okay, but if you need help, just let me know. Or you know, we could just skip changing clothes and jump right into the bath?” Kuroo winked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he eyed Tsukishima, who was now opening a small door to a room that led to the bathroom, it was small, but big enough for changing clothes in, two people might be able to squeeze in here, maybe.

“I think I’ll hold off on that.” Tsukishima scowled, lightly shutting the door behind him. He could almost hear a feint sound of displeasure coming from Kuroo as he shut the door, though he already knew that wouldn’t be the last he heard of it. Knowing Kuroo, he would probably see Tsukishima’s resistance as a challenge, and only make his come on’s to him all the more obvious and vigorous. Though, when you come to an onsen you pretty much expect to get into a bath, so he knew he probably wouldn’t be holding out on that one for long.

When it came down to it, Tsukishima found that it wasn’t nearly as difficult to put on a yukata as he thought, this was a standard hotel robe that every guest practically wore after all. It was completely black with white design that matched the plant in the vase in the corner of the room. Tsukishima thought it looked pretty nice, except for the one tiny problem: his height.

Most people, with the exception of some foreigners or people who are just naturally gifted at being tall, like sports players, probably wouldn’t have this problem. But for Tsukishima, his ungodly height that made him just about tower over everyone he knew, left his ankles and several inches on his legs underneath his knees exposed. Tsukishima thought to himself that this would cause a slight problem, in more ways than one. Why had he been cursed to be so tall?

Not that there was much he could about it, it was cotton, and there’s only so much room to stretch things out, plus on top of that, he knew this was most likely the biggest size the place had, the last thing he wanted to do was make a fuss because he was a little too tall. So, he was just going to have to bare it for a little while. A little discomfort for a few hours, how bad could it be?

And with that, he opened the bathroom door, feeling slightly awkward as he stepped out of it. It was like whenever Kuroo would take him shopping, and Kuroo would insist on Tsukishima modeling the clothes for him. Except this time the clothes were slightly too small for him, and they were in private now, so Kuroo could make all the more half-precocious comments about how much he liked Tsukishima’s legs. It almost made him feel like the universe was working against him, purposely putting him in outfits that would draw Kuroo’s attention to him even more. What had Tsukishima done in his past life to deserve something so cruel?

“Fuck!” Kuroo muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Tsukishima to hear it as he stepped out of the bathroom. And here come the comments, Tsukishima rolled his eyes as he mentally prepared himself.

Kuroo had his hand placed over his mouth in a coy manner, as if he was trying to hide the smile that was no doubt on his face, Tsukishima could even see his eyes delicately move up and down over top of his body, like he was taking it all in. He was so distracted by his eyes being on him that he didn’t even notice anything else.

It took Tsukishima several minutes to notice it, but Kuroo had apparently gotten changed while he was in the bathroom, already standing there in his yukata that matched Tsukishima’s, only his fit him perfectly. It almost looked nice on him, the way the black robe complimented his dark hair. He was so used to seeing Kuroo in suits that he didn’t quite know what to do seeing him in something different. Thinking about it, even from the first day he met Kuroo, he had only ever seen him in suits, when he wasn’t in suits he was naked or almost naked. But his eyes, his eyes were the same, hungry, almost lust filled as Tsukishima felt them refuse to depart away from him.

“Legs.” Kuroo mumbled out again, his words almost incoherent, they sounded more like a breathy whisper, Tsukishima felt like he was just reading his lips more than he was actually hearing him speak.

Tsukishima scowled, turning his head as if it would cause him to feel any less embarrassed from all this. “Stop making that face. It’s not my fault most stores don’t have clothes that will fit me.”

Tsukishima was used to this multiple times before, when he was a little kid he always had to buy something in a size higher than what he would normally wear, just so the pants would fit him, and adulthood was no different. Hell, it even amazed him that when Kuroo took him shopping that they found stuff in his size. So, this he was definitely used to.

“Did you just change clothes out here?” Tsukishima asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, walking past Kuroo and placing his old clothes inside of the small bag he brought. He didn’t mean to do it intentionally, but Tsukishima thought he heard a subtle moan escape Kuroo’s lips as he made his way past him, probably from him staring at Tsukishima’s legs, which there was no doubt that they were more exposed as he bent down to put his clothes away. Who knows how much of him Kuroo got to see from that, let alone how much Kuroo enjoyed it.

Tsukishima wanted to be resistant to Kuroo tonight, mainly just to show himself that he could be, he spent so much time just falling into Kuroo, giving into his touch that it was going to be unbearable pretty soon if he didn’t do something about it. And, this ‘arrangement’ was supposed to go both ways, so why should Kuroo always be the one to make a move first? Sure, Tsukishima had kissed him impulsively once or twice, but that was the most that he ever initiated. Their relationship was strictly sex for clothes, food, and anything else Tsukishima would need. It wasn’t like they were specifically bound by a contract or anything that said Tsukishima always needed to melt under Kuroo’s touch each time, so why shouldn’t he try to make Kuroo melt under him?

“Tsukki, I’m going to need you to stop being so cute, or I won’t be able to control myself.” Kuroo said it as if it were a joke, resting a hand on the back of his head, but Tsukishima was pretty sure that he was being serious, or at least, it sounded like he was.

Tsukishima didn’t even bother to notice that Kuroo dodged the question, well, not like it mattered all that much. What was that saying? People shouldn’t ask questions they already know the answer to, or something like that. Tsukishima knew by this point he was just distracting himself by mentioning whatever came into his head, hell, he was surprised that he didn’t start asking Kuroo about the weather. Maybe he was just frazzled tonight, being alone in what was technically a hotel with someone did leave what felt like a layer of vulnerability. It was fairly obvious what they would be doing in a few hours after all. And given with what he was wearing, Tsukishima felt even more exposed and naked than usual.

For what it was worth, Tsukishima was starting to look at Kuroo as an acquaintance, they had been living together for well over a week now, and Tsukishima got quite used to his quips and passes at him. It was just second nature for him to wake up and have to deal with them, so much so that he could practically go about Kuroo’s penthouse now living his day to day life almost unfazed and un-frazzled by him – almost. Most of Tsukishima’s life now felt like it was just sex, and cuddling with Kuroo in bed and on the couch (which Tsukishima wouldn’t even admit he actually liked cuddling, it was his little secret). But occasionally he did get flustered when Kuroo would touch him a certain way, or kiss him slowly. It was so frustrating more than anything else. Kuroo wasn’t forcing it on him or anything, but it was like his entire body was now craving this new attention from the bedhead, wanting so much attention that he didn’t quite know what to do with himself anymore. And it pissed him off the most that he felt like this. Dammit, why?

“Have you seen my phone?” Tsukishima asked as he made his way past Kuroo. He knew he didn’t take it with him into the bathroom, and it wasn’t in his bag when he just checked. Did he leave it back at the penthouse? He didn’t need it, but having your phone around always serves as a nice distraction when you’re bored, or in any kind of situation you don’t want to be in.

Tsukishima looked at Kuroo, raising an eyebrow at him, as if he would have the answer that he wanted and needed. “I put it over on the table.” He pointed, giving Tsukishima a sigh of relief.

Maybe it was just because it was the new phone that Kuroo got him, it was several steps up from his former crappy flip phone, and he was still figuring out how to use it. On top of that, he reluctantly told Yamaguchi that Kuroo was taking him to an onsen tonight, and he knew that with just mentioning that it would send his best friend into a tizzy of excitement, which was bound to lead to a flood of text messages from him tonight. Yamaguchi had always been a bit of an excited text-er, someone who excessively uses caps lock when they’re yelling, and you could practically feel the emotions coming off of every new message. Also, his lack of proper grammar when texting did annoy Tsukishima a little bit. But, what he wanted to avoid most of all was Kuroo reading those possibly cringe-worthy text messages. And given what happened during their first interaction together, who knows what Yamaguchi would say over text.

“I also texted your friend back for you.” Kuroo added, he slowly walked his way over to the front of the room. He had a certain strut about him, almost like a model, as he leaned up against the frame of the door, crossing his arms as Tsukishima picked up his phone.

“Friend?” Tsukishima wasn’t even fully listening as he opened up his phone to check for any messages.

He was still getting used to it, and the concept of anything being touch screen seemed pretty foreign to him. He hated how every time he went to unlock his phone and touch one of the icons on the screen, that a new finger print smudge would be there, making him want to instantaneously clean his phone right now, but he couldn’t. He also found himself almost feeling paranoid that he was going to break the thing. How much did Kuroo spend on this again?

“What was his name again? The one I met the other day when I went to your school? The one with the freckles.” Kuroo continued, he had a pleasant ‘hum’ in his voice, one that sounded like he knew Tsukishima wasn’t fully aware of what they were talking about right now. It almost sounded like he was playing with him, trying to test the waters, figure of what he could get Tsukishima to agree to in this short time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tsukishima could see Kuroo lightly flip some of his bangs out of his face, which immediately fell right back down to where they were. It was like he was just trying to widen his view briefly, as he eyed Tsukishima, watching for the blondes’ reaction of what he would do next.

“Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima spoke softly, still not fully listening. Though, he didn’t really need to be listening to tell him that, it wasn’t like Tsukishima had a lot of friends, other than Kuroo, Yamaguchi was pretty much the only other person Tsukishima saw on a regular basis these days. Occasionally, his older brother would text him to make sure he was okay and doing well, but that was it.

“Yeah, him!” Kuroo bellowed, snapping his fingers, almost as if a lightbulb just went off in his head. “Your phone kept going off while you were changing, so I decided to reply to it. He’s actually quite funny.”

“Uh huh- wait, you did what?!” As if Tsukishima finally tuned back into reality. Kuroo had been texting Yamaguchi? At first he didn’t believe it, so much so that he had to aggressively tap on the ‘messages’ icon on his home screen, determined to prove that Kuroo was just pulling his leg, or saying something to get some sort of reaction out of him. Kuroo always did like to do that, anything to make Tsukishima feel flustered.

But, sure enough, once he opened up messages, there they were, it hadn’t even been two minutes yet since the last message.

**Yamaguchi**  
‘Tsukki! hows Kuroo? Is he spoiling u? hve u fckd yet? R u hving fun?  
Tsukki! have fun 2nite wit ur daddy. Txt me if u need any advice’

**Me**  
‘Oh, I intend to. I’m gonna get it on with daddy tonight ;)’

Yamaguchi was probably the only one who knew how socially awkward Tsukishima was when it came to relationships, unless he was drunk. He knew that his best friend was only trying to help, but what was he thinking?

In a weird combination of agitated and angry, Tsukishima just blurted out. “He knows this isn’t me, I would never use ‘get it on’ and ‘daddy’ in the same sentence. And furthermore, I would never call you ‘daddy’ to begin with.” Tsukishima was shaking the phone in the air, as if he was trying to show Kuroo what he had just done, like a parent disciplining their child, though he already that was useless. Yamaguchi would have been well aware that wasn’t him, Tsukishima never was one for using emoji’s in texting, and the fact that Yamaguchi didn’t respond to that just proves it all the more.

“Tsukki, I’m going to need you to repeat that.” Kuroo spoke again, flustered wasn’t quite the right words to use right now, Kuroo had a peculiar look on his face, not one that showed any remorse for what he did, but one that said ‘what did you say?’, as if he didn’t fully understand what Tsukishima just said, but neither did Tsukishima. Did he just indirectly call Kuroo ‘daddy’? No, impossible, he was just repeating what Kuroo wrote on the phone, and that was it.

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.” Tsukishima scowled, as if he was determined to get out of this conversation.

“No, you did. Say it again, call me daddy again.” Kuroo almost ran over from the wall, with the look of an excited puppy dog on his face as he practically forced Tsukishima against a wall. His hand slammed down on the wall next to Tsukishima’s head, the same provoking smirk on his face as if he was eyeing his prey. Tsukishima had seen this look many times before, it was the look that usually led to the two of them making out not even thirty seconds later.

“I’m not calling you that, I would rather call you Tetsurou.” He meant to say it sarcastically, but after hearing it, it sounded more genuine than he intended.

Maybe it was just because of the recent internet culture that took the word ‘daddy’ to mean something completely different these days, but it had an almost ‘dirty’ sound to, the kind of thing that made you want to burn your tongue with acid after you heard yourself speak it. It was one of those words that Tsukishima’s body and mind refused to say, it just made him feel gross or icky, yeah, ‘icky’ seemed to suit it perfectly.

“Call me that again, Tsukki. Say my name again.” Kuroo’s voice seemed to take almost a darker turn, turning lower and more seductive than normal, maybe it was just the whole atmosphere of this place, but his eyes looked hungry, probably hungry for someone tall, blonde, and with a lot of legs. “Oikawa texted, he said he wants us to have a double date tonight with Iwaizumi at the restaurant here. But we could always decline, say we got hung up somewhere.” Kuroo put emphasis on ‘somewhere’, and started to use his free hand to lightly run them over the edges of Tsukishima’s cracked lips, sending a shiver up his spine as he just watched Kuroo speak. That was all he could do, just stand there helplessly and cling onto his every word. “We could just go right into the bath, me and you, you sitting on my lap as we kiss each other and soak in the water. You know what they say about bath sex, it’s a new experience, more fun, everything’s wetter, slippery, feels different. We could try that, if you want, Tsukki.” Kuroo had a demon tongue, the kind that could sweet talk anyone into doing anything for him. Tsukishima knew this and was used to this, but he still felt like he was falling victim to Kuroo once again, feeling himself fighting the urge to give in. and if it wasn’t for the sudden noise that erupted from his stomach, he might have actually given in.

“Grrr.” He almost felt his face turn red from the noise. Why did his stomach always have to be so loud? And at the worst possible times? Well, since it did just stop him from giving into Kuroo, maybe it was a blessing instead of a curse. But, the very fact that he found himself giving in so easily pissed Tsukishima off.

“Well, as you can see, I think we should go to dinner.” Tsukishima used this opportunity to be strong against Kuroo’s provocations, pushing his glasses up as they started to fall down his face, and walking past the bedhead. It surprised him that Kuroo didn’t actually have a look of disappointment in his voice though, it was more like a look of scheming. Did he want Tsukishima to resist him tonight? What exactly was he planning? Tsukishima tried to think of all the possible outcomes of tonight, but then soon realized that was impossible, because Kuroo was nearly unmanageable to read. For all Tsukishima knew, there was nothing but cats inside his head.

Tsukishima turned his head back to Kuroo and ran his fingers over his own lips, feeling how they felt after Kuroo had touched them there. They were still rough, but something about them felt softer, lighter, maybe it was just because Kuroo had smooth hands that it only seemed that way, but Tsukishima was almost astounded to find himself wanting to test this out again.

“Also, can you not do that. You’re creepy when you’re horny.” Tsukishima forced himself to make some kind of remark, he had to, he couldn’t very well let Kuroo know that he liked it when he touched him. Kuroo was pretty much a tease on two legs who knew how well he was at provoking people, and he couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Plus, Tsukishima didn’t exactly like that, cocky people were always the most annoying. “If you’re going to flirt with me, then just kiss me.”

“Tsukki-“

“-not now.” Tsukishima knew where this was going the very moment he spoke those words, that was almost like an open invitation to tell Kuroo to kiss him. He could almost see him diving across the floor to plant his lips on the blonde, but was abruptly stopped by his cold attitude.

This time he did seem surprised, surprised that Tsukishima would deny him when he had been giving into him so much this past week. The way he held his mouth opened and blink his eyes almost made him look cute. Wait, since when did Tsukishima start thinking Kuroo was cute?

And just as soon as Tsukishima noticed that look, it was gone, replaced with a new look of over confidence, Kuroo had that same look of analyzing in his eyes, like he was a robot or something trying to figure Tsukishima out.

“You know, you’re kind of hot when you’re bossy.” Or maybe Tsukishima’s sour attitude was just having a reverse effect on the guy. It only seemed to make Kuroo’s passes that much stronger. Seriously, what was with this guy?

Tsukishima had several things he could have said to him right now, anything from rolling his eyes to telling him to shut up. He still hadn’t quite figured him out yet, so out of fear of being rude and pissing him off, he opted for something a bit more neutral. “Let’s just go eat dinner”.

 

The restaurant built into the onsen hotel was definitely different from what he expected. It seemed like the whole place had a traditional, almost old style feel to it, everything from the rooms, to the front desk, to the hallway was littered with everything you would see on TV at a place like this, but the restaurant, the restraint was different, it was modern. From the very moment Tsukishima walked in there, he could sense that it was different, it was like one of those overly tinted night clubs, the ones that have this heavy romantic atmosphere that they try to push on you, Tsukishima always found places like that to be super annoying, and this, this was definitely close, like a few steps away from playing that loud obnoxious club music close.

The lights in the room were tinted into a dark shade of purple, it felt more like a sex club than a restaurant. Like the kind of place where you would meet up, eat your meal, and then go into a room in the back somewhere to do ‘other’ things. Booths were scattered all around the almost empty room, circular tables with a generic wooden pattern on them, and royal blue padded seats that felt so soft you would think they were recliners.

It didn’t take long for Kuroo and Tsukishima to spot Oikawa and Iwaizumi sitting in a booth in the back, both of them sitting near the far wall in the corner, with Oikawa’s hands pressed firmly onto Iwaizumi’s. Looking at him now, Oikawa did sort of give off the subtle dominant vibe, he was playing innocent, but he played it well. It was probably his face and his voice more than anything, they gave off an innocent, young vibe that Iwaizumi must have been drawn into, and you accompany that with his natural good looks, Oikawa was probably several peoples dream guy.

As they approached the table, even a feint ‘you’re so funny, Iwa-chan’ could be heard in Oikawa’s high pitched voice, before the two of them brought their attention to Tsukishima and Kuroo.

“Tsukki!” Oikawa’s voice rang out as they got close to the table, waving one of his hands in the air.

It had completely slipped Tsukishima’s mind that Oikawa had to pretend not to know Kuroo, he was trying to pull off the convincing college student act after all, and to do that he was going to have to pretend that he knew Oikawa, that was the hard part. Not because he didn’t like him anything, but Tsukishima just literally met this guy what felt like a few days ago, they had little to no interactions with one another in the time Tsukishima was with Kuroo, and now he was going to have to act like he knew him, and that they were college buddies. The only thing Tsukishima could even think of right now was that Oikawa was a model, and he couldn’t very well bring that up at the dinner table. What exactly could they even talk about?

“Iwa-chan, you remember Tsukki, he’s my friend from college, we met him when he was checking in, and this is Kuroo, Tsukki’s sugar daddy.” You could hear feigned innocence in his voice, as he glanced an apologetic look at Tsukishima, he probably felt bad about forcing this whole situation on them like this, but from what Tsukishima saw of Oikawa, he could be rather panicky at times. Tsukishima guessed he probably just needed some comfort and reassurance before whatever events they do tonight.

“Hey.” Kuroo smirked, a look of over confidence on his face once again as he sat down next to Tsukishima, placing his arm over the blonde’s shoulder as he pulled him close. Iwaizumi gave a friendly nod to them as he watched Oikawa as he boasted about who knows what some more.

Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself right now, so he did the only thing he could think of to do, lean in. He didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t something that he wanted to do right now, especially considering how much he wanted to resist Kuroo tonight.

It really was starting to feel like some sort of sex restaurant. The way Tsukishima looked up and caught a small glance of Kuroo under the purple lights only seemed to solidify that feeling, the way Kuroo smirked at him, giving him that lustful look that made it look like he was drunk off the atmosphere was no help at all. It almost looked and felt like Kuroo was going to eat him alive.

“What do they have to eat here?” Tsukishima couldn’t help but ask in only a slightly annoyed tone as he noticed there was no menu on the table. This was just a normal restaurant, right? Just a normal double date as a favor to Oikawa (and Tsukishima’s growling stomach).

Kuroo laughed slightly, placing his free hand on Tsukishima’s leg. “Don’t worry, Tsukki, I’ll order for you.” He cooed as his whispered, probably so low that only Tsukishima could hear it. Maybe ditching the double date dinner wouldn’t have been such a bad idea, if anything, this gave Kuroo more of a chance to make subtle passes at Tsukishima, and Tsukishima was in no position to deny them right now, well, not if they wanted to help Oikawa. It was going to be a long night.

“Did you used to play sports? I feel like I’ve seen you before.” Iwaizumi spoke for the first time. Tsukishima got the feeling that he wasn’t shy exactly, just reserved, like Akaashi. He had a certain tough look about him that made him look mean, probably just from the muscles all over him, but he seemed decent enough. Oikawa had a look on his face that made him look like he was in a trance every time Iwaizumi spoke, the way his eyes stayed locked onto his lips whenever he spoke almost made him seem like he was love-struck. At least one of them was already having a good time.

“Yeah, I used to be on the national volleyball team, until I retired last year.” Kuroo laughed it off, using his charms as he spoke and gave a convincing grin towards Iwaizumi. It was already clear that Kuroo was going to be the one in charge of this whole conversation.

“I thought so.” Iwaizumi really wasn’t one for conversation, you could tell just by looking at him, or well, maybe he just wasn’t one for conversations with people he didn’t know. Before they got to the table, it looked like the two of them were having quite some fun together. Then again, Tsukishima was the one at the table who had said the least amount so far, so who was he to talk about being quiet and reserved?

Tsukishima thought about saying something, the way he looked over Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and then back up at Kuroo only seemed to make the atmosphere in the room more tense. But what would he really say in a situation like this? It wasn’t like he knew Oikawa or anything, he was just sort of here to be here. All he could do right now was focus on not looking and acting like an awkward person who felt so out of place right now. Then again, maybe it was just Kuroo’s looming presence over him that made him feel that way. Iwaizumi seemed not to pay any attention to him, in a good way, probably just thinking he was one of Oikawa’s socially awkward, yet desperate for money, college friends. And to some extent, he wasn’t wrong.

Right now, even though Tsukishima was taller than Kuroo as they sat down in the booth, it felt like Kuroo was looming over him, maybe it was just his what-had-to-be unnatural bedhead that scattered off into multiple directions, but every time Tsukishima would turn his head to the side and catch a glimpse of Kuroo smirking down at him, those Cheshire-like eyes had a certain glint in them from the lights that made him look more predatory than usual. Tsukishima scowled at him as he turned his head to look at Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who were almost positioned in a similar way, with Iwaizumi’s arm around Oikawa’s shoulder, which looked almost just as awkward as you could imagine, since like Tsukishima, Oikawa was also slightly taller than Iwaizumi.

Oikawa leaned his head onto the man’s shoulder, which, even through the yukata he was wearing, you could still make out his defined muscles, probably from years of playing sports and working out. Looking at him, he had more of an alpha male, leader of the pack type of vibe, and Oikawa had a delighted look in his eyes, one that said he knew he was going to get fucked tonight. For some reason that made Tsukishima scowl even more. Maybe it was just because he was never into the whole lovey-dovey couple thing. Why was he here again?

“Oikawa.” Iwaizumi’s words were soft but still in reach as he got up from the table. It was so unusual for Kuroo to be this quiet, like he was observing the atmosphere, it almost alarmed Tsukishima, by now he was just so used to Kuroo doing anything and everything to provoke people that he didn’t know what to do when he got this silent.

Tsukishima couldn’t tell what was being said after that, Iwaizumi leaned his head into Oikawa’s ear, whispering something to him that almost made the model and his perfectly curled hair blush. Tsukishima assumed he was leaving to go to the bathroom, since he got up from the table and walked away after that, somehow getting an almost pleasant sounding hum from Kuroo as he rested his elbow on the table.

“Iwa-chan, huh?” Kuroo almost teased as he shot Oikawa a playful glare. Tsukishima didn’t really get much of a chance to talk to him, but he was getting the sense that the two of them had a bit of a rich history together.

“He told me I could call him whatever I wanted, and Iwaizumi is such a long name, isn’t it? That’s why you call Tsukki ‘Tsukki’ instead of Tsukishima, right?”

“Actually, I call him that cuz I think it’s cute.” Kuroo placed a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek, almost like he was trying to include him in on the conversation, that or just get the blonde to retort somehow. Maybe it was just all the lights, but Tsukishima felt a lot hotter than usual.

“Well it’s the same thing then.” Oikawa turned his head slightly in the direction that Iwaizumi walked off to, cupping his hand around his face in a long gaze. “Apparently he is a frequent user of ‘The Lion’s Den’ ever since it opened, and he has a thing for pretty boys. Who would have guessed?” It was hard to tell if Oikawa was in disbelief or being genuine with that, his tone was so bland it was almost like he was deep in thought, thinking, no doubt thinking about Iwaizumi. Maybe it was just easy for Tsukishima to read him, but it was obvious.

“Told you, Oikawa.” Kuroo almost sang out in a proud voice, his voice even had that slightly arrogant ‘I told you so’ ring to it. “You’re so his type.”

“You think so?” Oikawa hummed, turning his head back to face both Kuroo and Tsukishima, his brown eyes looking more lively than usual. “We went shopping before we got here and he bought me some ‘things’ we’ll be using soon.” Oikawa snickered in such a way that it almost resembled a look Kuroo would give him often. He put an emphasis on ‘things’, implying something that he probably didn’t want to say, not that it was hard to catch on.

“Things?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, speaking for what felt like the first time in this conversation.

He didn’t actually mean to say it, but as Yamaguchi had pointed out multiple times before, he could be rather oblivious when it came to relationships, that or maybe his curiosity was just getting to him again. He figured they probably didn’t have long until Iwaizumi got back, and not that Iwaizumi made this situation that surrounded them all anymore awkward, but it can be hard to talk to someone you just met, especially if it’s a double date and you don’t know any of the people. Even saying Tsukishima knew Kuroo right now was a bit of a stretch.

“Oh Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, turning his head to face the blonde, that same provoking smile on his face as he rested one of his hands under his chin, curling his fingers. Tsukishima could see that look of lust in his eyes, hunger as he lightly ran his fingers up and down Tsukishima’s back, the thin material of the yukata made his fingers feel all the more noticeable as they sent chills up Tsukishima’s skin. “You know, I have a lot of ‘things’ we can use too, back at the penthouse, I have a whole closet full of them, we could-“ Kuroo’s voice got slower and more deeper as he went on, seducing Tsukishima as he tried to envision what he was talking about. Well, he didn’t have to envision much, the tone in his voice gave away perfectly well what he was talking about. And to Tsukishima’s surprise, almost made his face heat up, as if he was turned on right now. Why? Why does the mere mention of sex with Kuroo have this affect on him?

Kuroo’s voice was almost as seductive as his eyes, half lidded already as he eyed the blonde, provoking him to get his way, treating him as though Oikawa wasn’t even there. It pissed Tsukishima off, like everything else he did, but what pissed him off the most right now was that Tsukishima found himself almost crumbling under Kuroo’s touch. The way he could feel his fingers through the fabric of his shirt, and the way it pierced at his skin, there’s something about slow moving hands that make it feel so more seductive as they touch you.

“-How do you two know each other?” No, Tsukishima was determined not to give in tonight, so determined that he would even ask Oikawa a question, getting a hum of disappointed out of the bedhead next to him.

The question seemed to shock everyone, Kuroo, Oikawa, even Tsukishima. Though, this would give him a good opportunity to learn more about the man he is sleeping with, so he really couldn’t complain. And Tsukishima wasn’t shy by any means, so why not be a little curious. He needed to show Kuroo that he was full of surprises.

“When I first started out modeling I got a job to do a commercial for Kuroo’s fathers company, he was there, tagging along to see how something like this was done, we met, started talking, and really hit it off, so now we’re here.”

“We used to fuck a lot too, until I learned how high maintenance you are.” Kuroo teased, almost boasting like he was proud of that fact.

“You two slept together?” It shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise to Tsukishima, Kuroo did sort of have that ‘playboy’ feel around him, the kind of person that partied a lot and slept around a lot. It came more as a surprise that it was with Oikawa, he seemed more like the kind of person who didn’t sleep around with anyone.

“Back in my college days, when I first joined the team, I used to party a lot, I met Oikawa at the shoot and we became fuck buddies. But not to worry, Tsukki, I’m all yours now. No other guy has the right to see me naked other than you.” Kuroo leaned his head over, planting a slow kiss on Tsukishima’s neck, teasing him, as if he was saying ‘all this is yours now’.

“Get a room!” Oikawa teased, almost laughing as he saw the figure of Iwaizumi return to the table. His whole face lit up again as he let himself fall back down comfortably into Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

“Oh, we intend to, in about an hour.”

Iwaizumi didn’t say much, well, not to Kuroo or Tsukishima anyway, he looked like he spent most of the night whispering things into Oikawa’s ear that made him blush. It felt like they were on two separate dates than a double date, but Kuroo made sure to give Tsukishima plenty of attention. Constantly touching him and giving him little kisses on the neck, it got annoying fast, but somehow, Tsukishima didn’t mind, even going as far as to kiss Kuroo a few times while they shared some fruity cocktail that Kuroo insisted that they both should try. It was a bright side of purple and pink, and Tsukishima was pretty sure it was cherry flavored. Kuroo even went as far as to feed Tsukishima the cherry that came on top of it, letting his fingers dangle a few inches in front of Tsukishima’s lips as he did so. Making Tsukishima wonder why doing something like this was turning him on so much.

“Okay Tsukki, let me feed you too.”

 

Tsukishima found himself wondering how things came to this again. He wasn’t drunk, there was nowhere near enough alcohol in that drink to push anyone over the limit, but from the very moment they got back to their room, things changed. Like the animal inside of Kuroo was unleashed once again, one minute both their hands were wrapped around each other, and the next they were making out, taking off their clothes and walking over to the bath. Maybe it was just the atmosphere, Tsukishima was pretty sure he read an article like that somewhere before, but Tsukishima found himself all too happy to make himself comfortable in Kuroo’s lap.

With one arm wrapped around Kuroo’s shoulder, it seemed to bring them closer together as the water came up to their waist, a tingling sensation of warmth overcoming them. Kuroo had his hands pressed firmly against Tsukishima’s back, pushing the two of them even closer together than they already were, Tsukishima felt incredibly tall, a few inches taller than he already was as he sat in Kuroo’s lap. His glasses were already off, resting on the floor inside of their room, with the rest of their mess of clothes.

Kuroo’s lap was just as warm as the rest of his body, maybe it was just from the water, but Tsukishima felt exceptionally hot ‘down there’. The way that Kuroo kissed his jaw gently, biting at the skin and getting breathy whispers and moans out of the blonde made him almost forget that he was supposed to be resisting tonight.

“What’s wrong, Tsukki? You’re normally already shaking and begging me to fuck you. Playing hard to get tonight?” Kuroo took one of his fingers and started trailing it along Tsukishima’s bare and exposed chest, pricking at the skin as a form of seduction.

“When have I ever done that?” Tsukishima scowled as he felt Kuroo move his other hand down to Tsukishima’s thigh, tracing his nails up and down the sensitive skin like he always did. He was teasing him, like he had been doing all night, and doing a damn good job at it.

“You don’t say it with your lips but you say it with your eyes, every night you have that ‘please fuck me, Kuroo’ look in them. You’re so willing and submissive, it’s so cute.” Kuroo started drawing a light line down Tsukishima’s chest, forcing the blonde to practically arch his back under the new sensation. He was more provoking tonight than normal, normally he would do as he pleases, he would know what to do and say to get his way. But tonight, it was different, it was almost like Kuroo wanted Tsukishima to beg for it and ask for it.

“I think something must be wrong with your vision, I’m not cute.” Tsukishima wasn’t annoyed right now, he was actually in quite a good mood, but his tone didn’t mimic that.

“And the fact that you said you’re not cute means you are. Anyway, Tsukki, what’s wrong? Tell your daddy what’s on your mind?” Kuroo cooed in that voice that he knew he was going to get his way, making eye contact with Tsukishima, his eyes were just as provoking and lustful as always, like they were peering into Tsukishima, eyeing him like he knew what he was going to say.

Tsukishima found himself scowling again, Kuroo was the king of provoking people, and he knew it, he always looked smug whenever he said this overly perverted things to Tsukishima, and it pissed him off so much more because of it. He thought that this was his chance to change things up, wipe that smug look off his face a little bit.

“There’s nothing wrong, and I told you I’m not calling you daddy.”

“You just did.” Kuroo smirked, probably pleased with how well this night was going for him, Tsukishima didn’t even have to look or feel down there to know how horny the bedhead was right now.

“You piss me off, you know that?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him, still determined to not give in to Kuroo tonight. It was his turn to take charge, he kept telling himself that this arrangement they had went both ways, just because Kuroo was the one who had the money didn’t mean he needed to be in charge all the time. Oikawa was technically the ‘baby’ in the relationship with Iwaizumi, but it almost appeared that Oikawa was the one in charge. So, why couldn’t Tsukishima take charge just for one night?

“Tell me more, Tsukki.” Kuroo seemed to like the sudden shift in the conversation, tracing his hand back up Tsukishima’s spine, rubbing his back as if he was encouraging him. His nails felt so smooth against Tsukishima’s already wet skin.

“You should let me top tonight, it’s not fair to you to have to do all the work.” It didn’t sound nearly as sexy out loud as when he said it in his head a few hours ago. What was he supposed to say exactly? Just reach forward and kiss Kuroo, hoping that the message got across to him. Though, it wasn’t exactly fair to Kuroo to say that he had been doing all the work, it was an equal effort, and Tsukishima wasn’t exactly innocent when it came to teasing Kuroo with his legs. Kuroo had warned him before, but he really did lose control around Tsukishima when he showed off his legs.

“Oh ho ho. Are you making me an offer to have sex with me, Tsukki?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow in entertainment, Tsukishima already knew he was waiting for what he would do next. “Then, I accept. I’m all yours tonight, Tsukki. Please make me unable to walk in the morning.” He was kidding, he had to be, or at least that’s what Tsukishima thought.

Kuroo leaned his head back, taking his arms off of Tsukishima and resting them on the side of the bath on his elbows, his wrists just loosely hanging there as he smirked at Tsukishima. It almost looked like he was telling him ‘bring it on’, like he was daring him to touch him, to make a move on him, and Tsukishima was probably just unwavering enough to do it.

How hard could it be? All Tsukishima had to do was do the things Kuroo did to him, touch him, tease him, kiss him, make him feel the way that Kuroo made him feel. That wouldn’t so hard, right? Outside of the fact that Tsukishima had never done this before, Kuroo was only the second guy he had ever slept with, and with all the times he had slept with Kuroo and that random one-night-stand he had at that one college party, Tsukishima had never topped before. Hell, it wasn’t until he met Kuroo that he experienced his first blowjob. So how exactly was he supposed to do something like this with the same over flowing confidence that Kuroo always had?

Out of all the things he was, shy and awkward were words never used to describe Tsukishima, this was his chance to show Kuroo that he wasn’t just a naïve, sarcastic, willing college kid.

As if he actually knew what the fuck he was doing, Tsukishima straddled himself on top of Kuroo, sitting directly over top of his lower half as he slowly began to run his nails over top of Kuroo’s chest, feeling his well defined muscles. He couldn’t help but wonder what to do to make this situation better. What would Kuroo like? He knew Kuroo was very fond of his legs, so maybe something with that.

Tsukishima moved his head to start kissing along Kuroo’s jaw, using one of his hands to brush his messy hair out of the way, finally getting a good view of his face for what felt like the first time. His eyes stared at him, but unlike all the other times, they weren’t provoking, they were curious, just like a cat, curious of what Tsukishima was doing, what he was thinking, and what he was going to do next. It almost seemed like they had feint look of pleasure in them as well. Was Kuroo enjoying this? Did he want Tsukishima to touch him?

Kuroo’s skin was admittedly very soft, it was probably just from dipping his face in the water earlier, but the effect still lingers, almost like it was making his skin glow. Tsukishima felt like he was admiring it, the way his lips pressed softly against Kuroo seemed to get little to no reaction out of the man, but maybe that he had no reaction was his reaction. Kuroo was always smirking, always provoking in one way or another, when he wasn’t doing that you could just feel his eyes on you, observing you, it was a strange thing to see him be quiet, maybe that just goes to show how off guard he was taken with all of this.

“Tsukki, you don’t have to be so gentle with me, you know? I can take it.” Kuroo winked, as if he was trying to rile Tsukishima up on purpose, thinking that maybe it might give Tsukishima some extra motivation. “This is your first time topping, right?”

“Am I that bad at it?” Tsukishima took it as an insult when he probably didn’t need to. He learned by now that Kuroo’s compliments were really similar to insults, but that’s just sort of what their relationship was.

“I didn’t say you were bad at it, Tsukki. If you want, I can give you a few-“

“Shut up! Let me do this.” Now that was definitely an insult in Tsukishima’s eyes. He had been watching Kuroo since the moment he first stepped foot in his penthouse, learning everything he could about him, from how to thought, to how he liked to seduce people, if Tsukishima hadn’t learnt a thing from him by now, that would have been the real embarrassment.

“You’re really hot when you’re bossy, you know?” Kuroo cooed, egging him on as he placed a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulders. “Will you- Tsukki-“ Kuroo gasped out, releasing a breathy moan as Tsukishima could see him bite down on his lip. It was the first time he was hearing that sort of noise come out of Kuroo’s lips before, and he liked it. Maybe it was just because it made him feel powerful, but when Kuroo looked at him like that, with his face a subtle shade of red and those eyes filled with pleasure, it made it all worth it.

Tsukishima ran one of his free hands along Kuroo’s inner thigh, doing his best to mimic how Kuroo would touch him, it worked. Kuroo’s legs gently started to shake in the water as Tsukishima continued to kiss light kisses up and down Kuroo’s jaw, moving to his stomach. He could feel his entire body turn incredibly hot as he grabbed Kuroo’s other hand and entangled it in his hair. He decided to have some more fun with it and rock his hips against Kuroo, driving the bedhead wild as he felt those fingers pull in his hair, making Tsukishima moan as he bit down on the tender skin.

“Can I fuck you?” It seemed abrupt, but with all of the making out they did prior to this, it was clear that one of them was ready to get fucked tonight.

“I was going to complain if you didn’t, Tsukki.”

As if that was the answer he wanted and needed, Tsukishima smirked. “Turn around.”

 

“You did well tonight.” Kuroo soothed Tsukishima as he ran his fingers lightly over top of the blondes back. The two of them both collapsing inside their room the minute they finally stepped out of the bath. Tsukishima felt groggy and his vision blurry as he struggled to remain awake, plus the room was so dark from the night sky outside that it was almost impossible to make out Kuroo’s face. “I haven’t had a fuck like that since, well, Oikawa.” Kuroo almost laughed, and Tsukishima knew all those bite marks he left on him were still visible on his neck and chest. Even his hands hurt from how hard he was gripping onto Kuroo’s thighs earlier.

“I went easy on you.” Tsukishima couldn’t even process his thoughts right now, probably from how tired he was, but right now his mind was completely cluttered with Kuroo.

“Is that so? Well if that’s the case you should do that again to me sometime.” Kuroo began moving his fingers in slower circles along Tsukishima’s back, even if he was almost asleep, it still sent a chill up his spine.

“Will you let me sleep?” Tsukishima groaned out, feeling slightly annoyed, he didn’t notice it until now, but he had gotten incredibly comfortable around Kuroo recently. Why?

The two of them were side by side, almost on top of each other as they slept on their beds, Tsukishima could still feel Kuroo’s body heat and breath hit him as he pulled him closer.

“Give me a kiss and I’ll let you sleep.” Kuroo teased him, back to his provoking ways, it was clear that that was the only way to get him not to be provoking.

“I’m too tired to kiss you.” Tsukishima wasn’t, right now he could easily lean over and plant a soft kiss on Kuroo’s oh so kissable lips, but he resisted, maybe from curiosity to see what Kuroo would do, or just from annoyance, he figured if Kuroo kept on talking he would probably just fall asleep on him.

“Then do something else for me instead, Tsukki.”

He already knew he had a lot to tell Yamaguchi tomorrow, but despite how long the day had felt, Tsukishima couldn’t help but feel some slight satisfaction from today, maybe it was because he finally felt like he could pay Kuroo back for all the things he did for him, or maybe it was just because of how great the sex felt, he couldn’t decide. But Tsukishima knew that if he told Kuroo how great he felt that he would never hear the end of it. Maybe he was starting to like him after all, just like.

Tsukishima opened his eyes to look at Kuroo, right now it was still so dark that all he could see were his eyes, like they were glowing back at him as some feint moonlight seeped in from the clouds outside, shining on the lower half of the room, only making Kuroo’s legs visible. He gave him a feint nod (not that he thought he could see it from the darkness), but he gave him some signal telling him to continue. Tsukishima was so tired and probably in such a mood right now that he would agree to anything, well, almost anything.

Kuroo opened his mouth and spoke softly, moving his hand from Tsukishima’s back to ruffle his hair up a little bit. He didn’t know what Kuroo thought about him, but his words gave his a soothing, almost vague idea. “Let me make you feel tomorrow morning the way you made me feel tonight.” And Tsukishima thought he liked the sound of that idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, another chapter that I did not intend to make nearly this long, but here it is, haha. The next chapter will entirely be from Oikawa and Iwaizumi's perspective, and we'll get to see what happened when they met and went on their onsen date. Also, I do start midterms next week, and I'm going to still try to update this story weekly, but the next chapter might be a little late because of that, and that's also why this chapter is being updated a day or two earlier than I usually update this story. lol. And thank you guys so much for all the support on this story, I didn't expect it to do nearly as well as it has done so far. All the comments definitely keep me motivated to continue and keep updating. :)


	6. Longing For Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa goes on his first 'sugar daddy' date with Iwaizumi, where he struggles to keep up his lies and show him that he's not entirely the man that Iwaizumi probably thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is entirely from Oikawa's perspective and shows his 'date' with Iwaizumi. For this story I couldn't decide if I wanted to include a Oikawa and Iwaizumi side arc or not, but I opted to give it a try. There probably won't be very many chapters like this, probably just one or two more at most, so enjoy :)

Oikawa Tooru felt awkward, to say the least, as he pulled out his phone and used it to examine himself as if it were a mirror. Looking over his features one last time as if he were in a fit of paranoia.

What was he even thinking? He wasn’t even sure he entirely knew the answer to that himself. He was a model, son of a rich family, the kind of person who had almost everything in life handed to him, he eased by school and life mostly on nothing but his good looks alone, and yet here he was, begging his friends and friends of his friends to loan him some clothes, lie for him, follow him to make sure everything went well for him. He was begging like a little dog, and why? All because of Iwaizumi Hajime. 

Oikawa always considered himself to be the high maintenance type, he didn’t sleep around with people long term, cared far too much about his appearance, and was always told that he could have everything and anything he wanted. All that would have normally been fine for him, that is, until he started seeing his friends get older, leading happy lives, slowly and one by one, they all moved on and found someone to be with. First it was his old high school friends Matsukawa and Hanamaki, then it was Yahaba and Kyotani, then Bokuto and Akaashi not long after he met them, and now it was Kuroo and Tsukishima. They said they were only doing a sugar daddy arrangement for now, but he could see it clearly in Kuroo’s eyes that he was already falling for his new companion, and Tsukishima was as well, not that he would admit it. He had only known him for a short time, but Oikawa, like Tsukishima, had always been good at reading people, and he could tell that Tsukishima was already crashing and crashing fast. He almost envied him for how naïve he seemed, and the way Kuroo looked at him as if he were a precious jewel that he wanted to protect and never let go. He always had been the possessive type, if he wasn’t too careful he would probably hold on too tight to Tsukishima and hurt him, but it wasn’t his job right now to keep his bed headed friend level headed. He could worry about that on his own time.

Right now, it was his job to play the part of a naïve college student, someone who was desperate for money, someone who was a normal, quiet kid, probably somewhat of a nerd, someone who wasn’t the flamboyant type who made all of his money by posing on billboards and for commercials. His parents always did say his looks would take him far in this world, and they were right, they just weren’t right about how they would do it. Who would have thought his looks alone would get him a date with his dream man? Oikawa certainly didn’t.

What was it exactly that made Iwaizumi his dream type anyway? Strong, muscular, stern faces that looked serious, but at the same time looked really passionate. Yeah, that was the type. Most people would consider it pretty shallow to be attracted to someone by their appearance alone, but Oikawa spent all of his life on his looks, it only came natural that that would be his number one factor when finding someone. Not to mention, Iwaizumi didn’t look ‘just’ attractive, he was strong, successful, and probably one of a few people that could actually ‘put up with Oikawa’s shit’, as Kuroo would say.

Maybe it was just because Oikawa was used to being the sleazy type, but lying about something like this didn’t affect him like it normally would have. Working in the model industry isn’t exactly the most innocent and easy going life style, you would hear stories all the time of people having to lie about their age, sleep with someone to get a job, or even pretend like they came from a different background than they actually did just to get a job. It was a bit of a dog eat dog world. And Oikawa never had the pleasure of knowing what it was like until now. His first job as a model was just handed to him, and that’s when he met Kuroo, after that Kuroo pulled some strings until Oikawa’s name and face was at least somewhat known in the model world. He was thankful for having connections, but this, this wasn’t going to be easy.

He wasn’t sure if he got here too early, he was waiting outside of Iwaizumi’s apartment, taking one last look at himself with his cell phone mirror. He looked over his perfectly quaffed hair and un-make-upped face, which he tried to conceal so much. His instincts were telling him that most college students don’t look and act the way he does. What do normal college kids wear and do these days anyways?

He knew he was fortunate that Tsukishima even let him have his old clothes, albeit, even though they didn’t fit him properly, as he expected.

The shirt itself was fine, a plain white t-shirt with little to no significant details about it, if anything, you could just tell that it had been worn a lot, the fabric felt thin, like at any moment if you grabbed it too hard it would rip. Oikawa threw a dark navy blue jacket over top of it, something one of his relatives got him for his birthday a few years back, he had never worn the thing before, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t designer, there were no labels on it that he could distinguish anyways. He also took it upon himself to put on a pair of glasses, thinking it would take the attention off of him, almost like a disguise, like he was trying to hide the fact that he was a model. Though, that might have just been him trying to draw the attention away from his perfect hair. But, despite his appearance, the pants on the other hand, they were the real problem.

Tsukishima was tall, probably one of the tallest people he had ever met, and because of that, the pants fit awkwardly to say the least. Length wise they were far too long for someone like him, feeling baggy as they cuffed around his ankles. He knew he probably should have had them taken to someone to fix them up before he came here, but he feared that would just ruin them, and the last thing he wanted after he practically begged Tsukishima to let him use these clothes was for them to get ruined, hell, maybe the giant would actually need them back one day. From what he saw, he was still getting comfortable to Kuroo’s life style and looked incredibly uncomfortable when Kuroo wasn’t around him, it was almost kind of cute. Not that Oikawa thought many people were cute.

Whoever would have thought that the great Oikawa Tooru would have stooped to this level; this was worse than desperate, this was just pathetic. And why was he doing this exactly? For a crush? Because he saw Iwaizumi and knew that he had to have him, and knowing damn well a guy like that didn’t give off the ‘I date models’ type of vibe, he decided to try his hands at fate and his plan hadn’t back fired so far. But that was the problem, so far, he didn’t have a plan. What was the next step after this supposed to be? Sleep with Iwaizumi, hope the sex was good, let him buy him things that he didn’t need and could probably get for himself, and try not to get his heart broken? Was that even possible by this point? Maybe he was just slightly jealous, but he wanted what his friends had, and if this was how they got it, why wouldn’t it work for him? Both Bokuto and Akaashi, and Kuroo and Tsukishima seemed to be just fine with meeting like this, so who’s to say that this sort of thing wouldn’t work for Oikawa? The only main difference being Oikawa wasn’t broke like Bokuto and Tsukishima were at the time. As the time went on, he was reminded again of how outstandingly difficult this was going to be to pull off.

“Oikawa?” A voice spoke over from beside him. Oikawa hadn’t noticed that he was so busy thinking about what the next step in his plan was that he didn’t even hear the door open, or bother to keep track of time. Now this was going to be awkward. He didn’t suppose there was any odds that he could explain to a guy that he was just casually waiting for him outside of his apartment, right? He was gorgeous though, Oikawa would give him that.

“Iwaizumi? Sorry, I got here early and didn’t want to bother you yet.” Oikawa laughed it off, placing a hand on the back of his head, ruffling up his perfect brown hair.

He didn’t expect it at first, but Iwaizumi was shorter than him, not by much, but it was still noticeable. He was wearing a bright blue shirt and white shorts, ones that the color scheme seemed to match the uniform he was wearing on TV the other day, and if Oikawa had to guess, based on the sweat pouring off of his forehead, he probably just got done working out. Oikawa had to control himself from biting his lip as he almost drooled over him. There was something different about seeing someone face to face, like all of those fantasies you played out in your head could finally become real. Ugh, Oikawa felt so shameful right now. He was supposed to be the submissive one, the baby, but all he could think about doing right now running over there and kissing him, this was going to be rather difficult.

“That’s fine, come on in, we have a few hours to kill anyway.” Iwaizumi held the door open, motioning for Oikawa to follow him in, and he did so with little hesitant.

Inside, Iwaizumi’s apartment was pretty modern, well, modern for what he would consider a star athlete to have, he was expecting something far more extravagant, like Kuroo’s place, with exotic furniture imported from Europe and other places over seas. But this, everything looked like it was bought at the local Ikea, mostly with wooden floors and cabinets filling out the kitchen, and a plain black couch, definitely not leather, and a square green rub laying on the floor of the living room. The only other things notable were the vast weights that littered the floor. What else was he expecting from an athlete’s room? Maybe something that screamed a bit more like a show off or a playboy.

Conversation, Oikawa, conversation.

Oikawa felt like he had to remind himself, this was different from the usual club fucks he was used to, though, those were pretty rare these days. Normally, there was no talking involved in something like this, just sex, but now he almost felt like he had make a conversation with him, saying something, because as far as he could tell, he was getting little to no reaction out of Iwaizumi. He could already tell that he was the bland, emotionless type. Not quite like Tsukishima, but close, and very serious.

“So, have you been using the Lion’s Den often?” What exactly was he supposed to ask a guy like Iwaizumi, even if you take out most of the factors that surrounded them, athletes and models don’t really have that much in common. And on top of that, Oikawa was supposed to be a naïve college kid, he needed to play this part well in order for this to work. So what exactly was he supposed to talk about?

“Since it opened about six months ago, I guess. Though, most of the ‘relationships’ don’t last very long, that’s why I use it so frequently.” Iwaizumi almost laughed, walking over to the kitchen section of the apartment and pouring himself a glass of water.

“Why’s that?” Maybe being shy and quiet just wasn’t in Oikawa’s personality, but it felt like his mouth was just moving on its own, saying whatever came to mind. He had always been the charismatic type, the kind with a bubbly personality, you pretty much had to be likeable and be a people person in order to be a model these days, even if you have to be good at the ‘resting bitch face’ when it came to posing.

A feint ‘hm’ could be turned coming out of Iwaizumi as he turned himself around, Oikawa figured he didn’t want to answer a question like that. It only made sense, that was probably like the equivalent of asking someone about their ex, they probably didn’t want to talk about it. But Oikawa just couldn’t help himself, he wanted to learn everything he possible could about Iwaizumi. Oh gosh, hearing himself say that made him sound like such a stalker.

“Are you new around here, I haven’t seen you around before?” As if he was changing the subject, Iwaizumi turned him back around, facing Oikawa as he took a sip of the water in his hand. Oikawa couldn’t help but notice his lips, perfectly kissable. He was a basketball player, but if he really wanted to, he could have easily been a model, with muscles, a face like that, and a voice so seductive it could turn anyone gay, he definitely could have been a model.

“Yeah, I just transferred here at the start of the semester. I don’t really know anyone yet, I have one friend at university, but that’s about it.” Sorry Tsukishima, Oikawa couldn’t help but have to think of an excuse right now, it would have probably been better if he gave himself a backstory before coming here. He was too ill prepared for this, he wasn’t used to this, lying, pretending, and most of all, he wasn’t used to someone actually asking him questions about himself. The only other person who had ever asked him anything before sleeping with him was Kuroo, and that was only because they became fuck buddies at the time. But right now, it was almost like Iwaizumi was interested in him, was he?

“Thought so.” Iwaizumi smirked. “Someone as pretty as you probably would have had a boyfriend by now.”

“A boyfriend?” Oikawa laughed, it was like the bubbly side of his personality was starting to take over. “Do you think I’m pretty, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa instantly regretted those words the moment he heard them escape his lips. He didn’t mean to give him a nickname like that, it just sort of slipped out.

“Iwa-chan?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at him, Oikawa couldn’t tell if he was confused or mildly curious. Let’s go with the mildly curious one.

“Sorry, it just sort of slipped out, Iwaizumi is kind of a long name.” Oikawa played it off, closing his eyes and laughing, hoping that Iwaizumi wasn’t the type to have a short temper like some of his other friends were. Oikawa remembered that back in high school, he gave one of his friends, Kyotani, the nickname of ‘mad dog-chan’, and that pretty much almost got him a death sentence. He could only hope but be optimistic that Iwaizumi wasn’t like that.

“It’s fine, no one’s ever given me a nickname before. Just don’t use it too much.”

“Okay, I was worried there for a second.” Oikawa laughed again, Iwaizumi may have given off a bit of a serious tone, but he couldn’t help but feel at home right now, like him and Iwaizumi were childhood friends. Was this what it meant to feel a connection with someone? 

He knew that he heard Kuroo mention something like this the other day at his party, but he didn’t quite understand what he meant. Being able to feel something with and for someone, no matter how long it’s been since you last saw them, or even if it’s your first time meeting them, you just feel something. Was that what this was? Despite everything Oikawa had, he had nothing like Iwaizumi, and he never wanted anything as badly as he wanted Iwaizumi. Was he being selfish? Probably, and he knew he was, but if anyone was presented an opportunity to have happiness, they would be a fool not to take it.

“Say Iwa-chan, can I kiss you?” Oikawa already knew he wasn’t conventional, he was a model pretending to be a college kid in order to get his superstar, athlete crush to sleep with him. He wasn’t a virgin, nor the submissive type. So just because he was the ‘baby’ in this relationship, why the hell did he have to pretend to be so submissive? It’s not like there was a rule book on ‘The Lions’ Den’ website that said what you had to do anyways. It just matched you up with someone, and everything else was left up to the people in the ‘arrangement’.

“Kiss me?” He could see the flustered look on Iwaizumi’s face, turning a bright shade of red as if it were something that he wasn’t expecting. Oikawa got the feeling that all the other people Iwaizumi had been with through ‘The Lion’s Den’ were probably too nervous or too socially awkward around the gorgeous athlete to actually make a move on him. He did sort of give off that unapproachable vibe.

“You work fast, don’t you? I had plans to take you out to dinner first.” Oikawa figured Iwaizumi wasn’t used to people just blatantly making offers at him like this, given his stature, he was probably almost always the one topping, but maybe it was time for a change.

“We can still go out to dinner, I just really want to kiss you right now.” Maybe Oikawa had just mastered the art of getting what he wants and being flirty, but he couldn’t resist the way he looked at him, like every part of his body was saying no, almost like it felt like it had to, but deep down he wanted to say yes. Did he want Oikawa to kiss him? Or was it all just wishful thinking? It had been so long that Oikawa forgot how to tell what was actually happening apart from his desires that he wanted.

“Go ahead.” Iwaizumi set his glass of water down on the beige colored kitchen counter, leaning his arms back and resting his elbows along with it. He almost smirked, probably thinking that Oikawa wouldn’t do it, it was already clear in his eyes that Oikawa was different than any other person he had met off of ‘The Lion’s Den’ before. If only Iwaizumi realized the lengths Oikawa went to in order to just be here right now, then again, maybe it’s better that he didn’t realize that.

Oikawa moved, more like he almost sprinted across the room, planting his lips on top of Iwaizumi’s. It was awkward at first, as every first kiss is, every person has different little quirks about how they kiss, the way they tilt their head to the side, the way their lips taste, and how they gently gasp for air as they part them, leaving room for the other persons tongue to gently slither in. Iwaizumi was inexperienced, he wasn’t a virgin, but he definitely wasn’t the dominant type. He probably had never met someone like Oikawa before, someone who was willing to show him what he was missing.

All that Oikawa could tell from a kiss, just a kiss. It was sloppy, the way Oikawa almost had to take control, lapping his tongue over Iwaizumi’s mouth, like he was asking permission as the two melted together as one. At first, Iwaizumi wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands, as Oikawa placed his around Iwaizumi’s head, holding him close and steadying himself as Iwaizumi finally put his hands around his back. This was everything Oikawa had ever wanted, he was desperate, but it was like all of his desperation paid off in this moment, and this moment alone.

Satisfied, Oikawa smirked, letting go of Iwaizumi as he gave the man time to adjust, by now he had to realize that Oikawa wasn’t ‘normal’ and definitely not what he was used to. He gave him a smirk, as if he was letting him know this is what he would be in for from now on.

“Oh.” Oikawa spoke, as if he just remembered something. “How do you feel about double dates? My friend from university has a sugar daddy, and they’re both going to be at the onsen tonight at the same time as us, I thought it would be fun.”

“Uh.. sounds good to me?” Iwaizumi seemed like he wasn’t sure exactly what to do with himself, as Oikawa suspected. Most people don’t know how to deal with themselves after Oikawa kisses them, because they don’t expect it, they called him the great king, whether that be of modeling, or kissing, Oikawa still had yet to figure out. But maybe, that would make Iwaizumi his queen.

“You’re different, you know that?” Iwaizumi spoke again, regaining his composure as he took another sip of his water. His face still that same shade of bright red that Oikawa was starting to think he was in love with. 

One of the main things that makes Kuroo and Oikawa’s personalities differ was that Kuroo liked to get a reaction out of people to see what they would do, it didn’t matter who they are, maybe he was just bored, but it didn’t matter who you were for the captain of provocation. But for Oikawa, he only wanted to get a reaction out of someone for one reason only, because he liked them. The way he liked to figure out how a person’s mind worked and figure out what to say to them to get them to become all flustered almost gave him a great joy. And for Iwaizumi, he was definitely flustered. But then again, it probably wouldn’t take long for Kuroo to start changing his ways, soon Oikawa could already see him only trying to provoke Tsukishima, trying to treat him exactly like Oikawa was treating Iwaizumi right now.

“So I’ve been told.” Oikawa smirked, a friendly smile as Iwaizumi walked closer to him. Normally, Oikawa wasn’t one for being flustered, but his heart did start to race at the very thought of now knowing what would happen next when Iwaizumi came so close to him. “Has anyone ever kissed you like that before?” Oikawa almost felt like prying, maybe to show Iwaizumi how different he really was from everyone else he had been with. He didn’t know how many people Iwaizumi had met through ‘The Lion’s Den’, but he figured none of them kissed him like that, or made the first move on him at all.

“Nope.” He almost smiled, as if he was satisfied. “You’re also the only one who’s said more than ten words to me upon meeting.”

“Well, maybe I’m just that special, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa winked. All sugar daddy style relationships are unconventional to some extent, but he was getting the feeling that the one he was in was going to be more unconventional than he originally had in mind.

“Come on, let’s go shopping. There’s a few things I think we should buy.” Iwaizumi sounded almost persistent, you could tell he was smart, just not the best with emotions, as he pulled on Oikawa’s arm, leading him out the door. It was only then that Oikawa decided to take the initiative and grab ahold of his hand.

“I think we’re going to get along just nicely, Iwa-chan.”

 

“Iwa-chan, can I see you again soon?” Oikawa spoke softly as he sat down on the bed in the room Iwaizumi booked for the two of them. It had been, as far as he was considered, a long day. He almost felt just as exhausted as he would when he got back from an all-day shoot.

Oikawa found it almost reassuring to see Tsukishima and Kuroo at dinner tonight, being able to talk to them while Iwaizumi stepped out and went to the bathroom was more of a way to calm his mind than anything else. Plus, it looked like the two of them had been enjoying themselves, Kuroo was always a provoking asshole, and the way Tsukishima almost flatly turned him down only seemed to make his bed headed friend that much more in love with the blonde. (Not to mention it was also entertaining to watch.) Oikawa couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what happiness looked like? Kuroo always had been a combination between a gentleman and a huge pervert, and if someone turned him down, you can bet that would make him like that person ten times more. But Oikawa reminded himself once again that he shouldn’t concern himself with what his friends were doing, as long they didn’t hurt each other, that was all that mattered. Though, for what it was worth, it did look like the two of them could handle each other pretty well, almost like the two of them were made for each other.

If anything, Kuroo’s teasing did reassure him, he wasn’t sure he could pull all of this off, but so far it was working, and surprisingly, not bothering him in the least bit. Then again, that might just be speaking on how trashy his personality actually is. He heard it many times from his friends back in high school, they would always say how Oikawa had a beautiful face but with a shitty personality, for the most part, he was pretty sure they were joking, but to some extent they were right.

Oikawa learned in the course of the night so far that Iwaizumi was the kind of guy who wanted the sexual attention, wanted someone to touch him, kiss him, wanted to touch and kiss someone, but was a bit too withdrawn to ask, probably out of fear of rejection or something. The way he talked before, his ‘relationships’ with this sort of thing didn’t last long, he even told Oikawa that he was the only guy he had been with who even spoke more than ten words to him upon meeting him. Oikawa figured he was just probably surprised to see someone not intimidated by his prominence. Then again, if he wanted to be quiet and just let Oikawa stare at him, maybe he would let him. Oikawa had been told many times by Kuroo about how ‘thirsty’ he was.

“What do you mean?” Iwaizumi cocked his head to the side, giving Oikawa a questioning look as he sat down on the bed next to him. 

Of course Iwaizumi booked the two of them the biggest, and most profligate room he could find, it almost rivaled the greatness that was Kuroo’s penthouse, with a private bath over looking the town on the balcony of the top floor. And the bath was to die for, making Oikawa’s skin prickle as he sat on Iwaizumi’s lap earlier. It almost made him feel like he was the one who was in control of all of the sexual things in the relationship, Iwaizumi had the money, but Oikawa was the one that had to make the first move. What exactly had happened to Iwaizumi in the past to make him such an awkward person? Well, maybe awkward wasn’t quite the right word Oikawa was looking for right now, he was more of a serious type than an awkward type. Wait, relationship? Did Oikawa just subconsciously think he was in a relationship with Iwaizumi?

“You’re moving in with me, remember?” Iwaizumi added again, leaning his hand over on the bed and placing a few centimeters away from Oikawa’s. Oikawa would have probably put his own hand on top of Iwaizumi’s, if it hadn’t been the fact that he got distracted by the conversation. That’s right, he was technically supposed to be living with Iwaizumi after this, just like Kuroo and Tsukishima were with each other. Wait, how exactly was he suppose to pull that off?

“Oh right, I forgot, sorry, I’m still not used to this.” Oikawa played it off as a joke, he had to do that a lot tonight as he got himself used to all of the things Iwaizumi said, but on the inside he could feel himself screaming. Living with Iwaizumi? Would he even be able to handle that? He practically lost his cool when he was drooling over him the other day when he was on TV, and now that he was right here sitting next to him, he was already fighting the urge to kiss him, as well as do ‘other’ things.

“Tomorrow we can go to your place and I’ll help you bring your stuff over.”

“What? No, that won’t be necessary.” His voice sounded more panicky than normal, a lot like the tone he used when he went over to Kuroo’s yesterday begging to borrow Tsukishima’s old clothes. 

Fuck! He didn’t think about this part, Oikawa was only concerned about the clothes he wore, but moving in with Iwaizumi would mean that he would need some furniture too, college stuff, text books, probably just a decent laptop, he probably even now had to come up with a fake schedule for the university he wasn’t actually attending, and he knew by this point he couldn’t rely on Tsukishima and Kuroo anymore. What was he supposed to do?

“I don’t have that much stuff actually, just some clothes, my phone, and a laptop.” Oikawa laughed it off again, placing a hand on the back of his head in an almost awkward manner. It’s not like the money he saved up from his modeling gigs wouldn’t be able to cover the rent for his own apartment for the next year or so, but this was a bit much. Would he even be able to take modeling jobs now that he was Iwaizumi’s ‘sugar baby’?

“Then I’ll buy you some more stuff.”

“Oh, no, no, no. You don’t have to do that, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa put his hands up in front of his face, like he was halting them, protesting. His voice seemingly getting higher as his sentence went on. He was frazzled, nonetheless. 

“Oikawa.” Iwaizumi had a stern tone in his voice, serious, like always, but this time it sounded more annoyed. Did Oikawa do something to piss him off? “I know you’re new to this, but as your sugar daddy, it’s my job to buy you things in exchange for sex.” Iwaizumi brought his face dangerously close to Oikawa, so close in fact that he could feel his breath hitting against his neck. Oh, what he would give right now to have Iwaizumi kiss and bite on his neck.

As if the inner animal inside of Oikawa snapped, he raised his head up, locking eyes with Iwaizumi, as he stared into those dark brown pools and smirked.

“Then let’s have sex, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa could even sense the own pleasant tone in his voice as he pressed his lips onto Iwaizumi’s. The yukata he was wearing slightly falling off of his body, showing some exposed skin on his chest and running all the way up his legs to his inner thighs. He didn’t know what Iwaizumi liked, if he was a leg man or what, but he was determined to soon find out.

Oikawa positioned himself on top Iwaizumi’s lap, letting his tongue slip inside of the muscular man’s mouth, making him now much, much taller than Iwaizumi. He could feel the almost saliva-like drool as their tongues ran over each other, Iwaizumi pressing his hands against Oikawa’s back as he held him close. Oikawa could feel every fiber of his being burn up, turning hot, like his whole body was screaming to have his clothes ripped off of him right now, to have Iwaizumi run his hands all over his body, and make him feel only the way Iwaizumi could make him feel. Was this what he had been missing out on for so long? Was this what all of his friends were experiencing right now? This much pleasure, this much greatness? Where had this been all his life?

Oikawa reached his hand down, grabbing a hold of Iwaizumi’s wrist and guiding his hand to the exposed skin on his thighs. He saw Kuroo do a similar move on Tsukishima earlier in the night, and now it was his turn. It had been so long that Oikawa had forgotten what it felt like to feel this good. Fuck, he was so turned on right now.

Iwaizumi was like a socially awkward virgin at first, until Oikawa showed him what to do and where to do it. You could sort of say Oikawa was very much in touch with his own body, knowing exactly what parts on him get him in the mood, make his body perk up and feel chills, and the reaction was ten times greater if it was someone else doing the touching, especially if that person was Iwaizumi.

Oikawa slipped his two arms out of the yukata, letting the fabric fall down and pool around his waist. He wanted to show off his muscles for Iwaizumi, sure, they weren’t nearly as impressive as someone who was an athlete on a national basketball team, but models did have their own special diets they had to stick to. Plus, Oikawa was flexible, and he wanted to show Iwaizumi just how much his body could bend for him.

Oikawa almost felt ashamed, his body was still slightly tanned from a shoot he did just last week, it was a shoot for an underwear ad in a magazine, and most of his body still sporting that tan. 

“Iwa-chan, touch me.” Oikawa moaned out, grabbing the other hand that Iwaizumi had around Oikawa’s back and guiding it to touch his newly exposed chest. You could hear a slight gasp of awe as if he was impressed, he was probably thinking something along the lines of how he didn’t expect a college kid to have a body like this. Of course, if Oikawa had his way, he was not going to be giving him the chance to even talk for the rest of the night. Unless it was of course moaning or saying his name.

Iwaizumi seemed all too happy to comply with whatever Oikawa said, almost letting Oikawa completely push him down onto the bed, positioning himself directly over Iwaizumi’s crotch. He could already feel ‘something’ under there, which only seemed to increase the excitement radiating from Oikawa, as he bent his head down and kissed along Iwaizumi’s neck.

“Iwa-chan, will you let me top you tonight?” Oikawa didn’t even think about this until just now, he was the baby, so it was only natural for him to assume that Iwaizumi would be the one who would be topping tonight, that’s just sort of how the logic in this kind of thing went. But as he had already stated before, Oikawa wasn’t much of the submissive type. He was thirsty, hungry, he was craving Iwaizumi right now, and as much as he wanted to feel Iwaizumi inside of him, he wanted to show Iwaizumi just how different he really was.

“Huh?” Iwaizumi was taken off guard, as he expected he would be. Oikawa had learned over the years that most people don’t know what to expect when it came to him, they always said he was the pretty model type, with most of them not realizing what exactly it means to be a model, it’s pretty much one step away from being an actor. You have to be good at reading people, knowing what they want and how they want you to pose, and sex was no different.

Right now, Oikawa could tell that Iwaizumi wanted Oikawa to touch him, kiss him in ways that no one else ever had. He could that Iwaizumi wasn’t a virgin, well, in the traditional sense, but he was getting the feeling that Iwaizumi probably never had anyone offer to fuck him before. And you know what they say, ‘there’s a first time for everything’. Maybe he would even be impressed if he knew what lengths Oikawa went through to be here right now, well, impressed or creeped out, it was unclear which at the moment. 

For Oikawa, it was the first time he ever went to such lengths to get to sleep with someone, willing to go this far with lying, and begging for his friends to help. And for Iwaizumi, maybe this was the first time someone had ever done these kinds of things to him. Oikawa noted that his face was already a bright shade of red, embarrassment and shock as Oikawa continued to kiss his perfectly defined jawline, running his tongue down Iwaizumi’s chest, working the front of his yukata open to expose more skin for his kissing pleasure. His skin felt hot and warm as his mouth ran over it, and it almost seemed like Iwaizumi arched his back into him, giving him more skin to kiss as he continued. Fuck, he really wanted to make Iwaizumi say his name and his name alone right now.

“Iwa-chan, let me fuck you. No one’s ever done that to you before, right? Then let me be the first.” Oikawa tried to make his voice as soothing as possible, he still didn’t know what exactly made Iwaizumi tick, but right now Oikawa would try his chances at a low, seductive voice. Kissing him all over was already getting a nice reaction out of the athlete, so why stop there?

“You’re not very conventional, are you?” Iwaizumi almost sounded like he was laughing, as he looked at Oikawa with an astounded expression.

“Of course not, Iwa-chan. But don’t worry, I brought a condom, I always come prepared.” Oikawa got up off the bed and walked over to the small bag he had brought with him, pulling a small condom packet and some lube out of one of the inside pockets.

Oikawa felt like tempting Iwaizumi, letting the rest of his yukata that was still hanging around his waist now fall to the floor, almost putting on a show for him as he pulled his skimpy underwear off along with it. By now he was trying to send a message to Iwaizumi, the message being Oikawa was horny and willing to do whatever Iwaizumi wanted. Maybe it was just the model in Oikawa that was unintentional showing off, or maybe he was more into Iwaizumi than he thought, who knew? But Oikawa was more than ready for this. It was a models job to please and do what the photographer wanted after all, and this was no different. Like Iwaizumi was the photographer and Oikawa was willing to do whatever he wanted.

“What do you think, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa smirked, sitting back on top of Iwaizumi’s hips, lightly running his fingers up and down Iwaizumi’s chest, making Oikawa smirk every time he would run over a tender piece of his skin, getting a sharp breath out of Iwaizumi as Oikawa’s nails pricked his skin. “Do you like me?”

“You don’t look like a college kid.” Iwaizumi raised one of his hands and lightly ran his fingers through Oikawa’s hair.

“I get that a lot.” He smirked, pulling at the hem of Iwaizumi’s yukata and stripping him of the rest of his clothes. A few hours ago, a comment like that would have put him on edge, but right now he was fine with it, maybe because nothing really bothered him when he was about to fuck someone, or maybe because his mind was already telling him that he was a college kid. It was like he was an actor who was in character for a role they were playing.

As if Iwaizumi got the hint, at least he wasn’t a slow learner. He squirmed out of Oikawa’s grasp, turning over on his hands and knees, allowing Oikawa to press his stomach against Iwaizumi’s back as he planted a kiss on the back of his neck. Even his neck was well defined. Why were athletes so perfect?

Oikawa wasted no time putting the condom on, using his free hand to trace a line down Iwaizumi’s spine, causing him to jump and arch his back into Oikawa’s stomach. Oikawa noted how sensitive Iwaizumi’s skin felt, so soft and smooth, muscles all over. It was so perfect, you could tell that he worked out, but he also took care of his body too. He really could have been a model. Why did he have to be Oikawa’s type, why?

“Oikawa-“ Iwaizumi breathed out when he felt Oikawa gently hover himself over Iwaizumi, it was clear that he had never felt anything like this before.

“Iwa-chan.” Oikawa cooed, placing his hand onto Iwaizumi’s hips, holding him close as he planted another kiss on his lips. It felt like the two of them were drenched in sweat, and their bodies were already on fire from just making out and touching each other. How could they both already be so wrecked? “I’ll make you feel this good all the time, so cum for me.”

It was as if Iwaizumi finally took the hint, as Oikawa thrusted into him, holding him down as Iwaizumi bit down on the pillow on the bed in front of him. Feint noises and moans could be heard coming from his teeth in-between the fabric. It was kind of hot. Oikawa was living his ultimate fantasy right now, and who would have thought that a professional athlete would have been capable of making such noises? He certainly didn’t.

He was cute, the way he let Oikawa kiss him and touch him, the way he whispered his name so suddenly, like he had never done something like this before, but the most adorable thing of all was how he arched himself into Oikawa, letting the man go deeper into him, and it felt great. If it wasn’t for the fact the two of them were both supported from the bed, Oikawa got the feeling that Iwaizumi would have been a trembling mess right now. It was almost a shame that he would have to wait to see that.

“Iwa-chan! Fuck!.” Oikawa had always been kind of a sloppy person when he had sex, and this was no different. He wanted to feel everything, do everything, and make his partner feel the same way, and by the looks of it, he was succeeding.

He was succeeding so well that Iwaizumi turned his head around, facing Oikawa as the two of them starting to kiss each other again, wet kisses of saliva dripping down their open mouths as bodies felt like they were burning alive. Was this that moment of satisfaction? That moment you feel when something you’ve only thought about in your head is now right in front of you? Oikawa thought so at least. This was the moment when he was now fucking his crush, making his crush notice him and him alone. It was like all of his efforts had finally been worth it. But it wasn’t just that, Oikawa knew deep down all of this was risky, but he knew that if he played his cards right, kept his lies in check, that this may never come to and end. Not that he wanted it to. He wanted more of Iwaizumi.

 

How was this supposed to go exactly? Oikawa was supposed to be a submissive, college kid, slightly naïve, and let Iwaizumi rock his world for the night, but instead everything turned into him rocking Iwaizumi’s world. Maybe he was just too upfront about things, or too straight forward with how he did things, maybe he was just a little too less submissive, but this wasn’t how he originally imagined it.

Oikawa was so gung-ho about all of this that he even offered to clean Iwaizumi up afterwards, lying in bed with him now as Iwaizumi draped his arm around him. Was he a cuddler? He seemed like it with the way he held Oikawa close, that, or maybe he was just trying to comfort him, he did just fuck a man for the first time that he only met less than six hours ago. Some common courtesy was probably at play here, something other than a polite ‘thank you’.

“Next time.” Iwaizumi breathed out, his breath was slow and almost in perfect rhythm with Oikawa’s. 

“Yeah?” Oikawa raised his head off of the pillow, looking at the man with a curious look in his eyes. He tried to guess what he was going to say next, but to no avail. It was so hard to guess something about someone when you had only known them for such a little amount of time.

“Next time, let me do you.” There was a certain sense of embarrassment in his voice. Their arrangement was sort of supposed to be for Iwaizumi to fuck Oikawa, but it ended up being the other way around, mainly because Oikawa always did have a hard time controlling himself when he was around someone he liked. He was the naturally dominant type, what could he say? Not that any of his friends has any right to judge him, they were just as bad as he was.

Oikawa smiled at him, almost laughing at the thought, in a good way. That would be nice, and the thought of that right then and there made him excited enough to want to go for a round two. 

He rolled over, facing Iwaizumi. He was kind of tough looking, and rusty around the edges, but there was something about him that made Oikawa drawn to him. Was this what Kuroo was talking about before, about the way he was drawn to Tsukishima, maybe it was the same. He was only here because of a lie, a huge lie that his friends were now involved in, but he couldn’t help himself, if he was able to see Iwaizumi every day, then maybe, he could get used to lying like this.

“Iwa-chan.” Oikawa spoke softly, both of them clearly about ready to fall asleep. “I think I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a lot longer to get out than I originally intended, but now that my midterms are done I have a lot more time to write over the next two weeks, so I'll try to update this story a little more frequently than just once a week. Also, this was my first time writing Oikawa and Iwaizumi as characters who weren't just side characters with little to no importance to the story, so I hope I did them justice. Next chapter will be back to the usual KuroTsuki stuff and I'll be adding more Bokuto and Akaashi in there as well, since I feel like the last few chapters have been very Oikawa and Iwaizumi heavy, and I haven't had enough of them in this story yet. :)


	7. A Terrible Shopping Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto drags Akaashi, Kuroo, and Tsukishima on a shopping trip to a very 'interesting' store at the mall, where he coaxes Tsukishima to try on some clothes with him. And later, Tsukishima runs into one of the last people he thought he would ever see at a place like this.

It was a day just like every other for Tsukishima now. Well, that in itself was a lie, but over the past few weeks his definition of ‘normal’ became insanely warped, changed, different than before. 

Two months ago, a typical Saturday afternoon for Tsukishima Kei would have just been staying in his besmirched apartment, studying, maybe booting up some Netflix on his crappy laptop and hoping the thing didn’t crash, or maybe pulling out a book to read that he checked out from the school library. Yamaguchi would probably text him, asking him if he wanted to hang out, go out drinking, head to the mall, anything, but he would just give some half-vague excuse and say he was busy. Though, being his childhood friend, Yamaguchi would have been well aware of his financial situation at the time, and he would probably expect Tsukishima to decline, he really wasn’t much for doing thing on the weekends. Yamaguchi would usually give up after that.

But now, things were different. Now Tsukishima was at the mall, dressed in his usual black designer jeans, bright red shirt and black cardigan to match, his shoes were so shiny that they put the marble finish on the front desk at the hotel to shame. (It was so strange that wearing clothes like this just became the normal for him now.)

Like everything, he wasn’t quite sure how it happened, how any of this happened. It was amazing how a little idle curiosity and some desperation could put anyone into a completely new life style. And that was especially true for Tsukishima. He still considered himself to be the same person, still snarky, still with little to no concern for people and what was happening around him, but something around him made him feel lighter. Maybe it was just all the new clothes, but Tsukishima could even sense that everything was starting to change for him. Not that he could tell if it was for the better or for the worse.

But his new strange feelings aside, a normal Saturday now for Tsukishima was waking up with Kuroo persistently spooning him, his large arms wrapped around his smaller waist as the two laid shirtless on the massive bed, Kuroo’s breath always tickling on the back of his neck until he got the mental energy to turn around and face him. Kuroo would always start out the day with a morning kiss, calling him ‘kitten’ or ‘Tsukki’ in a half-seductive voice. Tsukishima almost had to pretend to be annoyed because of how used to it he got. 

Sometimes they wouldn’t wake up spooning each other though, sometimes Tsukishima would wake up lying flat on his back, only wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants, that he barely had the energy to put on before falling asleep after the ‘events’ they did the previous night. Whenever that would happen, Kuroo would be lying on his stomach, with one of his arms and legs draped over Tsukishima, like he was pinning him to the bed. His muscles always would feel like they were crushing the blonde as his face would grow red with annoyance as the two would wake up. Sometimes he was starting to think Kuroo was doing it on purpose.

Saturdays were always the most normal for them, Kuroo didn’t have to go into the office, and Tsukishima didn’t have to go in for classes, they could sleep in as late as they wanted, and for the most part, they both enjoyed that. Though, Tsukishima did learn that Kuroo had a terrible habit of turning over and sleeping on his stomach in the middle of the night, that wasn’t the problem though, the problem was he would like to push two pillows up against the sides of his face in the middle of the night, stealing Tsukishima’s pillow. That was the problem. Apparently, that was how his bedhead happened, he always said that it was just a bad habit that he picked up ever since he was a little kid and he just did it subconsciously now as he slept. But it sure was annoying, waking up in the middle of the night with a sore neck to find out that your pillow had been stolen, it was one of the many things Tsukishima was forced to get used to. He figured if it bothered him that much he could always crash in one of the other rooms for the night, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure why, but he just felt like staying there, uncomfortable position aside. Wouldn’t it just be better for Kuroo to buy more pillows?

Their mornings were usually followed by Kuroo ordering some extravagant breakfast and having it delivered, questioning Tsukishima every time he only ate half the food he put on his plate, saying ‘Tsukki, are you eating properly, you seem so skinny!’, of course, his tone always sounded more than concerned, pissing Tsukishima off like he always did. He should have known by now that Tsukishima had, what he considered to be a small stomach, that, or maybe Tsukishima just got used to not eating much while he was trying to save money earlier on in the year. Who knew by this point? And it wasn’t like Tsukishima hated the food, his stomach just couldn’t devour down all the food Kuroo could, he was just a light eater, and he had been that way ever since he was a little kid.

After that is what brought them to where they are now, shopping. Kuroo would always drag him out to store after store, some days not even to buy clothes, just to look and tell Tsukishima to pick out some new items for the penthouse, saying ‘my tastes are too bland, pick out some things and we’ll decorate the house with ‘em.’ He wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing, the way Kuroo yelled that out loud, or how he almost subconsciously picked out some dinosaur figures he saw. If Kuroo liked cats, then Tsukishima liked dinosaurs. He could almost see the look on Kuroo’s face of ‘seriously’ whenever he closed his eyes now because of that, making him want to smack him as he scoffed a ‘like you’re one to talk’.

He knew what Kuroo was doing though, he was trying to make the penthouse more comfortable for Tsukishima. He knew he didn’t have much back at his old college apartment, so it was like he was saying ‘pick out some stuff so you can give the penthouse your own touch of home’. The only thing was, for Tsukishima, his ‘touch of home’ was pretty bland, almost as bland as Kuroo’s, all he really needed were some books, some headphones for his music, and a dinosaur plush and he was good to go. Kuroo had expensive tastes, and Tsukishima, he just felt kind of tasteless and monotonous.

Today was going to be just like that, except completely different because they promised Bokuto and Akaashi they would go shopping with them. Bokuto would always complain in their group text conversations that he didn’t get to hang out with Tsukishima very much, and that he wanted to go on a double date now, saying ‘it’s not fair, you two went out with Oikawa, we’re the only ones who haven’t been on a date yet’. Tsukishima couldn’t even understand why Bokuto kept calling it ‘a date’, they weren’t a couple, Kuroo and him were just roommates who would fuck, and Kuroo would buy him things. Is there even a word for that? But they definitely weren’t a couple, and what they did with Oikawa and Iwaizumi the other day could hardly be considered ‘a date’.

Since he was so adamant on going shopping again, they decided to let Bokuto pick out which store they went to today, and as anyone could guess, Bokuto had some ‘interesting’ tastes. He was clearly very hyper today as he dragged all three of them around the mall, with holding both Tsukishima’s and Akaashi’s wrists as Kuroo held onto to Tsukishima’s other arm as he brought them to a storefront. What kind of place was this anyways?

As Tsukishima looked over the shelves with confusion, he noticed that the store was almost empty, there was some younger looking guy sitting up by the cash register, with blonde hair and the annoying overly perky salesperson expression on his face as he flipped through a magazine, Tsukishima didn’t even bother to get a good look at him as the four them made their way to the back of the store, he figured he was probably just some high school or college kid who really didn’t want to be here but just needed the money. In a strange way, Tsukishima could relate. 

There were a few display racks of clothes, mostly t-shirts with foreign sayings on them and denim shorts, Tsukishima couldn’t really read what any of the designs said, not that he cared that much because he had no actual intention of buying anything here, and where those owl figurines?

“Bo, what kind of place did you take us to?” Kuroo laughed as he walked over towards the owl figurines, picking one up and examining it before placing it back down.

The store itself looked pretty big, with rows and rows of dressing rooms gathered in the middle, the back of the store had the displays they were currently looking at, with clothes cleanly folded in the middle, and a solid three shelves surrounding them. Both the left and right side of the store had headless mannequins sporting other various shirts, and there was even some that had various animal onesie costumes on the right side. The whole store felt very weird, with beige and white walls covering everything. It definitely had more of a modern feel to it. Making everyone feel even more puzzled as they looked at Bokuto, expecting him to have the answers. From what little Tsukishima knew about him, since they didn’t talk expect that night at the party and the occasional group messages that Tsukishima didn’t want any part of, he would be the only person who was interested in a place like this. 

“Oh, come on, Kuroo. This place is so cool! Tsukki, come with me, I want to see if they’ll have something that I think you’ll look good in.” Not that Tsukishima had any choice in the matter. What was he even doing here right now?

It felt like his entire arm was being pulled from his body as Bokuto yanked him over to the other side of the store by pulling on his wrist, an amused chuckle could be heard coming from Kuroo, as him and Akaashi followed them in amusement. Tsukishima had never noticed it before, but Bokuto was strong, maybe it was just because he had never really looked at him before, but he could have probably played any kind of sport that he wanted. So, he couldn’t help but wonder why was he working as a club when him and Akaashi met?

“Well at least he’s having fun.” You could hear Kuroo laughing from behind them, causing Tsukishima to tilt his head back and send a glare towards Kuroo. Getting a coy, flirty smirk in return. Which one of them was having fun here?

“But which one?” Akaashi said in almost amusement. “I think Bokuto’s just happy that there’s someone else he can talk to, now that you have Tsukishima.”

“Does he get that lonely? Must be hard to deal with him, right?”

“You can’t even imagine.” The usual small talk could be heard coming from Kuroo and Akaashi as Bokuto led Tsukishima over to a pile of clothes. He could almost hear the enjoyment in Kuroo’s voice as he watched the blonde being dragged from section to section of the store. Bokuto really was like a little kid.

Tsukishima hated this, most of time Kuroo and him went shopping was just the two of them, and it was quick. Kuroo would just walk him through the store, grabbing a handful of clothes that he insisted Tsukishima would look good in, probably from already planning out in his head what he wanted Tsukishima to wear. Then he would go into the dressing room, model the clothes for him, and it would be done. But this, this was impulsive and going to take a lot longer, and Tsukishima could already feel the dread in the back of his mind. 

Tsukishima could already tell as he looked at the expression of enjoyment on Bokuto’s face as he held up a pair of owl pajamas, they were bright blue and had little pink owls all over them, wearing little snow hats and earmuffs that they were going to be here a while. Did he have a thing for owls? Was that why they came to this store? He knew that Bokuto’s hair did kind of resemble and owl, but could it be that he styled his hair like that because he liked them so much? Not that it really mattered to him, Bokuto had owls and Tsukishima had dinosaur’s, he guessed.

Tsukishima couldn’t understand his enthusiasm with something like this, he was like a little kid getting presents, the way his eyes got all wide and he yelled for Akaashi to give his approval. Tsukishima couldn’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be better to just order something like this off of the internet. Not that he could bring himself to ask, his mind was a little preoccupied right now with feeling Kuroo’s eyes on him. Plus, it wasn’t like he disliked Bokuto or anything, he was really similar to Kuroo, but incredibly simple minded. And he was having a hard time faking a scowl as he eyed over the pile of clothes in front of him, he wasn’t interested in them, he was just acting as if he was doing something to distract himself from Kuroo, who was now right behind him.

“Tsukki!” Bokuto yelled, with more enthusiasm in his eyes. “Did you know that this place is technically a thrift shop that gets a lot of clothes from overseas?”

“You don’t say?” Tsukishima tried his best to not be a jerk right now, but he was having a hard time mustering up the enthusiasm that Bokuto had. Maybe it was just because they had nothing in common, outside of the people they were fucking being friends, but that didn’t necessarily entitle them to become friends, did it? Tsukishima didn’t even really consider himself to be friends with anyone other than Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima was always bad with people, and terrible at making friends. His only real friend was Yamaguchi, and that was probably only because Yamaguchi followed him around so much that he just sort of accepted it as friendship. He wouldn’t even consider Kuroo to be a friend. He didn’t, right? There was no way he could even tolerate someone like that outside of the situation they were in. If he was someone Tsukishima had classes with, he would have despised him instantly.

But despite all that, Tsukishima only really looked at it as having two options right now, a lot like the ‘date’ they went on with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, Tsukishima thought it might be better to ask questions. For all he knew this ‘arrangement’ was going to go on for a few more months, and it would be bad if he didn’t at least make some sort of effort. And Bokuto seemed nice enough, hyper, but nice.

“Say Bokuto, why were you working as a waiter at a club when you met Akaashi? Wouldn’t someone with your build be better suited for sports?” It was all he could think of other than asking him more questions about how he found out about this store, or his strange obsession with owls. Not that Tsukishima cared either way, but he figured if the two of them just stayed in silence, that would give Kuroo even more of an excuse to make a pass at him. And he wasn’t exactly in the mood for that right now. He wasn’t pissed off, just confused, and curious.

“I actually used to be pretty skinny, a lot like you, but a little bigger. When me and Akaashi first got together, he told me that he had a gym in his house that he didn’t use, since I quit my job and didn’t have anything else to do, I started using it and BAM! Look at me now, Tsukki!” Bokuto flexed one of his arms, showing off his well defined muscles. Tsukishima thought this sort of explained it, he was wondering how someone as big and strong looking as Bokuto was ever a ‘sugar baby’.

“Are you a personal trainer now or something?” Tsukishima didn’t mean to ask that; he was just curious. He knew that since Bokuto and Akaashi mentioned that they had a ‘normal’ relationship now he figured that Bokuto probably had a job.

“Nah!” Bokuto began, before both Akaashi and Kuroo stepped in behind them, Kuroo wrapped his arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder in the manner that he always did, feeling warm as he planted a kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek, getting the blonde to blush and scowl at how up front Kuroo was when it came to stuff like this. Did he always have to be so affectionate, or was he just always horny? Tsukishima could never tell.

“Bokuto actually just stays at home, he does all of the cooking and cleaning.” Akaashi spoke softly, almost proud as Bokuto kissed him on the cheek. Was Bokuto really the domestic type? Tsukishima though that he definitely didn’t give off that sort of vibe, but who knew. He found it hard to imagine Bokuto with an apron on, lovingly cooking food for Akaashi in the morning. Picturing him with an apron on with all of his muscles was hard enough, and slightly giving Tsukishima a mental image that he didn’t need right now.

“Does he?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow as he wiggled his way out of Kuroo’s grasp, hearing a slight pout coming from the man as he continued to look at the pile of clothes in front of him.

“Of course!” Bokuto boasted again, flexing his muscles like he was satisfied of that fact. “You should really try my cooking some day, Tsukki.”

“I think I’ll pass.” Tsukishima shrugged. He wasn’t sure what Bokuto’s cooking was even like, but his mind was throwing up those cautionary red flags again. What was that saying? ‘Never trust as skinny cook?’. Well, he was sure it was all the same if the cook was buff instead of skinny, but his mind didn’t really want to think about food right now, or what monstrosities Bokuto was capable of making. Just because you cook food doesn’t mean it’s edible.

“Aw, come on, it’s really good. You owe us that because you had dinner with Oikawa!” Bokuto whined, crossing his arms in front of his chest as Akaashi lightly placed his hand on his shoulder, it looked so small, touching Bokuto’s muscles like that, but it did seem to calm him down.

Tsukishima sighed. “We didn’t have dinner with Oikawa, we just accompanied him as he went on his date with his ‘sugar daddy’.” He still hated that word, he felt like his tongue might give out as he said it. Though, Bokuto wasn’t technically wrong, what they did with Oikawa and Iwaizumi would probably be classified as a ‘date’.

“How did that go by the way?” Akaashi spoke up again, with mild curiosity in his voice as he looked over at Kuroo.

“About as well as you would expect, Oikawa’s got it bad, and Iwaizumi still doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“Seriously? Is he ever going to tell him?”

“Knowing him, who knows? He can keep up with a lie for a while, but this is a lot more than just a lie, he has to keep up with the life style too. Did I tell you, he even came to the penthouse and asked to borrow Tsukki’s old clothes, that’s how desperate he is for all of this to work.”

“Seriously?” Both Bokuto and Akaashi spoke in unison, as they gave each other a dumbfounded look. They didn’t have to speak to know what they were thinking, very few people be able to do something like what Oikawa did, and even fewer people would be able to keep it up for much longer.

Tsukishima had a few more questions he thought to ask as the conversation was ending, like how the calm looking Akaashi was able to even get the hyper Bokuto to become his sugar baby. But he was afraid of opening up that can of worms, so to speak. It would probably end with Bokuto giving a very excited, and detailed rehash of all of the ‘events’ of their ‘morning after’ the night at the club where they first met, and Tsukishima really wasn’t in the mood for story time right now.

“Say Tsukki, you should try these on. I think they fit you pretty well.” Bokuto had an almost teasing tone in his voice as he perked up again, and Tsukishima brought his eyes up, looking at the small piece of fabric that Bokuto was waving around in his hands.

At first, he thought it was a joke. Tsukishima couldn’t completely make it out as Bokuto continued to twirl it in-between his index finger, his eyes were already feeling a little lazy as they adjusted from looking at the piles of clothes, but it looked more like a speedo or a pair on underwear than anything else, that is, until he stopped and showed it off to Kuroo. Tsukishima didn’t really understand what it was at first. Bokuto mentioned that this place was a thrift shop that had lots of foreign made figures and clothes, and looking at the clothes, they were definitely different than the designer ones Tsukishima was used to Kuroo dragging him to. But what kind of other things did this place sell?

In Bokuto’s hand he held a small piece of black fabric, something that would probably be classified as ‘shorts’ or ‘booty shorts’ by most sane people. It looked like underwear, well, probably something that was skimpier than underwear in Tsukishima’s eyes, it revealed way more than his boxers ever did, but a lot of that could just be attributed to his height. He was sure by this point that Bokuto was joking, he had to be, there was no way in hell anyone would actually wear something like that.

The fact that it was skimpy wasn’t the worst part about it though, the worst part about it, and what was no doubt getting a laughing reaction out of Kuroo, was that it read ‘meow’ across the ass written in white, with whiskers and everything.

Tsukishima scowled almost in disgust as he prepared himself to ask, ‘what the fuck this is?’

“I’m not wearing that.” Was all Tsukishima was able to calmly say as he pointed towards the small fabric in Bokuto’s hands, cocking his head to the side in a fit of annoyance. He was honestly thinking about leaving the store right then and there, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, probably because he already knew that both Bokuto and Kuroo would protest, most likely by literally dragging him back into the store. What even was the name of this place again?

“Oh, come on, Tsukki!” Bokuto whined, pouting just like a little kid as he turned his head toward Kuroo and Akaashi, expecting that one of them would have the answer to this little dilemma they were now in. And by ‘answer’, he was probably hoping one of them would insist upon it like he was, where as Tsukishima was hoping for a different answer.

“I’d certainly like to see you as a kitten, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed from behind him, his hot breath brushing up against Tsukishima’s ear as Kuroo brought his lips dangerously close to his skin, sending that very familiar chill up his spine. Tsukishima had to suck in a sharp breath, to prevent every part of himself from turning a bright and embarrassing shade of red. Why was it suddenly so hot in here?

As if looking at Bokuto would have distracted him, Tsukishima turned towards the owl obsessed man, but instead of getting any sort of distraction that he was hoping for, he was met with eyes that were almost as provoking as Kuroo’s. It was like he was being corner. They were half lidded as they looked up at Tsukishima, it almost made him look like he had an idea of some kind, making Tsukishima now almost worry. Oh no, what had he gotten himself into? He was starting to think that coming here today was a mistake.

“Tsukki!” Bokuto yelled again, this time pulling a second piece of fabric out from the pile of the clothes, like the one he showed Tsukishima, this one was black, but instead of saying ‘meow’, it displayed ‘hoot’ across the ass in a similar manner. “They have an owl one! I’ll wear this one and you can wear the cat one, come on, let’s go.” As if he didn’t have a choice, Bokuto reached out his strong arms, grabbing Tsukishima by the wrist and dragging him towards the nearest set of dressing rooms. It felt almost like he was being carried, the way Bokuto swiftly ran with him, almost picking his feet up off the ground. Tsukishima tried to turn his head back to look at Kuroo, who was no doubt laughing and watching in amusement right now, and probably enjoying this in a terrible and pleasurable way. He wanted to scowl at him, but he was just out of reach, as he was forcefully shoved into a dressing room by the stronger, owl man.

 

How did these terrible situations just find Tsukishima? Was he cursed? Was this just sort of some string of really bad luck? Is it karma for being a sarcastic smartass for most of his life? Was this just his punishment for stooping to these sorts of levels for money? Not that pondering any of this would give him an answer.

Bokuto shoved him inside of the dressing room, expecting him to put on that ‘thing’ he handed him in a matter of minutes. Hearing Kuroo’s and Akaashi’s not so subtle laughter coming from the other end of the door didn’t help either. He could hear them talking, but their words were too muffled by the giggling for him to clearly make out. Making Tsukishima scowl as he looked at himself in the mirror.

The dressing room was your small, basic, cube sized room, something you would probably find at every store at the mall, or everywhere, with a small light beige bench built into the corner of the wall, barely big enough for one person to sit on. A few hooks for placing hangers and clothes hung directly above his head, one on the door and a few on the wall. Somehow, he felt like this dressing wasn’t exactly built for people of his size. His head almost touched the ceiling as he looked at himself in the long, rectangular mirror that hung on the opposite side of the small room. Looking at it, this room was probably barely big enough to fit two people in it at the same time. Really, how did Tsukishima get himself into this mess?

It’s not like he wasn’t used to showing clothes off for Kuroo when they went out shopping together, most of the time it was just tight pants or low-cut shirts, but something that was pretty much bordering on underwear. That was definitely new, and he did not like how exposed and embarrassed it made himself feel as he eyes over his pale legs in the mirror. Fuck, he really wanted to go home.

Tsukishima could already feel himself become annoyed as he looked at himself in the mirror, barely making eye contact with his reflection as he caught a glimpse of himself. He even clicked his tongue out of habit as he let his arms fall down past his thighs, making himself question why he was even doing this in the first place. Was it just to make Kuroo and Bokuto not whine and complain, or was it because he actually wanted to? Wanted to? Wait, why would he want to do something like this?

“Tsukki! Come on out here!” A persistent banging could be heard from the other side of the door, with Kuroo’s voice almost rattling as it spoke against the walls. There was excitement in his voice, there was no doubt about that, and Tsukishima hated how he felt like he was putting on a show for him like this.

“Keep your voice down, you’ll disturb everyone else in the store!” Tsukishima yelled back, taking a deep breath as he felt shame and embarrassment over take his entire body. He didn’t think there was anybody else in the store besides them and the employee they say earlier. Maybe it was just from the shorts, but he felt colder than normal as chills ran all throughout his spine, and even making goosebumps appear on his legs. Fuck, he would give anything to just be able to leave right now. Maybe he really should have faked being sick today.

As hesitantly as he could, Tsukishima turned the handle to the dressing room, opening the door alongside Bokuto as Akaashi and Kuroo sat at the small sitting area they had in the middle of the store. Kuroo had his arms folded in front of his chest, as he sat back in the chair with a look of amusement on his face with a smirk, the term ‘enjoying the show’ came to mind as Tsukishima looked at him for a second. 

Tsukishima forced himself to look at Bokuto, who of all things, was also shirtless, flexing his muscles as he turned around to show off the ‘hoot’ on his ass written on the black fabric. He was way too proud about all of this. Tsukishima had barely gotten himself to put the thing on, let alone take his shirt off along with it. When he woke up this morning, this was not the kind of Saturday fun that he had intended. Maybe still living in his dingy apartment would have been a better idea.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, his voice wasn’t whining exactly, it was more of that same, persistent, provoking tone, the one that knew he could get Tsukishima to do whatever he wanted, as Kuroo raised an eyebrow at the blonde in a mischievous manner, like he was telling him he knew what he had to do.

Tsukishima sighed, it was better to get this over with quickly, he would just turn around, give Kuroo the ‘view’ that he wanted, and then be done with it. He wasn’t in a terrible mood today, but Tsukishima could already feel his mood plummeting fast, and there was no doubt that his face was as red as a tomato right now.

Tsukishima tried to mimic Bokuto with his level of enthusiasm, though, Tsukishima being enthusiastic and putting forth effort for anything like this was definitely something new. He could hear various ‘cat-calls’ (pun intended) coming from Kuroo as he showed off the ‘meow’ on his ass, his face a bright shade of red as he looked down at the floor. Normally this was the extent of the ‘modeling’ he would do for Kuroo, just turn around, show off the clothes to Kuroo a little bit, and be done with it, returning back to the dressing room and heading home, but this, this was different. He wasn’t sure what about it was different, but the way that Kuroo was looking at him, the look of lust and hunger in his eyes as Tsukishima turned back around. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, while he was turned around, Akaashi and Bokuto vanished from their line of sight. The last thing he even remembered hearing from the owl obsessed man was ‘Akaashi, what do you think?’, and then a loud, slamming noise could be heard from one of the dressing rooms, leaving little to the imagination of what was happening. It was strange, from how little he talked to him, he didn’t really picture Akaashi as a forceful one.

“Can I change back now?” Tsukishima scowled with an annoyed tone in his voice, more distinct than usual as he clenched his fists by his side. He was just waiting for Kuroo to retort with something.

As if Tsukishima decided that he didn’t need an answer, he backed away, pressing his back up against the door and reaching for the handle, determined not to show Kuroo anymore of those shorts he was wearing. He thought he was being pretty quiet today, more than he normally was. Was he just doing that because Bokuto and Akaashi were here, or was it because of something else? Either way, Tsukishima didn’t care, he managed to slip himself back inside of the dressing room, eyeing Kuroo carefully until a powerful force shoved him up against the wall. A clicking noise could be heard as the door closed behind him, and Kuroo pinned him down to the wall, almost with an animal-like instinct. 

“Kuroo! What-“ Tsukishima began as he felt the wind being knocked out of him. The red shirt he was wearing today felt pretty thin, and the cold wall of the dressing room was all the more noticeable on his back. 

He locked eyes with Kuroo, as the bedhead forcibly kissed him, slamming their two lips together. The sweet taste of the bedheads mouth on his was never unwelcomed by any means, the way Tsukishima almost willingly opened his mouth for him, letting his and Kuroo’s tongues run over each other. He could always feel his hot breath beating down on him as it sent a chill up his spine.

“You’re being awfully quiet today, Kuroo?” Tsukishima smirked as their lips departed suddenly. His voice came off in more of a teasing tone than he liked, he felt himself becoming almost amused with Kuroo right now, the way he had half-lidded eyes and looked like a wild animal that was about to attack at any moment. He would be lying to himself if he said he couldn’t feel a twinge in his body as he thought about the bedhead kissing him again.

“Purr for me, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed in his ear once again, making Tsukishima turn red in the face as the bedhead braced his arms up against the wall.

“Huh?” Tsukishima looked at him as if he didn’t fully understand what he was saying. Did he hear him right?

“Be my kitten, Tsukki.” He almost repeated himself this time, as Kuroo took one of his hands off of Tsukishima’s arm and started running it up and down his exposed skin, tracing his inner thigh lightly like he always did, he knew damn well that it did wonders for the blonde, it made him feel good, and was sure to make him crumble in a matter of minutes. Tsukishima was already struggling to stay composed as he could feel his knees starting to give out as he braced himself against the wall behind him.

“Kuroo!” He almost cried out, taking his free hand and putting it over his mouth as he caught a glimpse of them in the mirror on the wall opposite them, Kuroo’s eyes had that lust filled look in them. He always did say that he had a weakness for legs, and this proved it. 

Tsukishima thought about protesting, they were technically in a public place after all, even though the store was only currently occupied with them, Bokuto, Akaashi, and the cashier in the front of the store, but he couldn’t bring himself too. It was clear that Kuroo was horny right now, almost like a kitten in heat, and Tsukishima was already feeling his temperature rise just from the man touching him. Why did his body only act this way around Kuroo?

Tsukishima became almost surprised with himself, as he moaned out a soft sound from in-between his teeth when Kuroo bit down on his neck, his eyes looking up at him briefly with that same hunger look in them. He tried not to look at them in the mirror, but that proved to be just as useless as he imagined. There was something so much worse about doing something like this with a mirror present, being able to see the embarrassing faces you make. Tsukishima’s face was bright red, embarrassment, but somehow still aroused as he let out a deep breath.

He could feel Kuroo move his free hand all over his legs, paying extra close attention to his inner thighs, pinching them, toying with them as he moved his hand to the back. There was a reason that these things were called ‘booty shorts’, because they show off more than just his legs. Tsukishima felt Kuroo take advantage of that, his warm and rough hands sliding up the back of his thighs and squeezing his ass, sending the blonde into a slight jump, bringing the two of them closer together as he arched his back.

With his other hand, Kuroo let go of Tsukishima’s arm, using it to slide his shirt over top of his head, running his hand lightly over Tsukishima’s muscles that weren’t nearly as defined as Kuroo’s, but still had a noticeable presence. 

Tsukishima hated Kuroo doing all the work, that was something that would really only fly when you’re virgins, and even then it’s still questionable. He took his hands and placed them on Kuroo’s shoulders, not pushing him back but holding him in place, it was probably more of a way for Tsukishima to prop himself up from falling down more than anything else. He could feel his nails digging in as Kuroo seemed to not mind, kissing a trail from Tsukishima’s neck, to his collar bone, down to his chest. His breath still feeling cool, causing Tsukishima to lean more into the man.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo cooed, his eyes almost looked hazy as Tsukishima tried not to take notice of the bulge in him that was much more obvious wearing these new shorts. “Can you meow for me?”

“What?” Tsukishima looked at him, almost yelling. Was he purposely trying to kill the mood, or did Kuroo just have some really strange kinks? But as if Tsukishima was willing to oblige, maybe just because he was that determined to get laid right now, he took another deep breath. Swallowing his pride, if you will. “Meow.”

It was terrible, well, Tsukishima thought it was terrible as he refused to make eye contact with anything other than the floor of the dressing room. He wasn’t very much of the enthusiastic type, as anyone could guess, and pretending to be a cat definitely wasn’t something he would ever picture himself doing. So why was he doing it right now without a second thought? 

“What do you want me to do, Tsukki?” Kuroo asked, a pleased tone in his voice as he trailed his index finger down Tsukishima’s bare chest, his other hand still going back and forth, lightly rubbing Tsukishima’s inner thigh, untiringly. He still had a smug and arrogant look on his face, almost like he was expecting Tsukishima to beg for it. He still pissed Tsukishima off beyond belief, but right now the heat in his body was too much to ignore.

“Fuck me.” He almost barked out, or hissed out? Meeting Kuroo’s eyes with ones that were almost equal with how hungry they were. Which one of them here was the prey exactly?

“You’re so cute when you’re bossy, Tsukki. I have a birthday coming up, you know?” Kuroo almost teased him, planting another kiss on his lips before unbuckling his pants, the clanking sound of the belt hitting the floor seemed that much more louder than usual, maybe it was just from the sexual tension right now.

“I don’t think right now is exactly the best time to be mentioning to me what you want as a present.” Tsukishima steadied himself up against the wall, trying to make it as sturdy as possible, because he knew without a doubt that his legs would be giving out again very soon.

“Hm.” Kuroo let out a slight chuckle, the same one that said he was amused about something. “You’re far too serious, Tsukki. You should try to have more fun.”

Tsukishima couldn’t tell if he was being serious or intentionally trying to provoke him. Normally a comment like that would have pissed him off to no end. Though, was Kuroo actually saying something like this to him right before fucking him? Wouldn’t a normal, half-sexual comment have been fine? Why did everything that Kuroo say or do have to piss him off so much?

Tsukishima scowled at him, tilting his head to the side. He wanted to say ‘are you going to fuck me, or just lecture me about my personality?’, but he didn’t, he figured a comment like that would definitely kill the mood right now.

As if Kuroo got the hint that Tsukishima didn’t want whatever kind of conversation he was trying to have right now, he brought his lips back to Tsukishima’s, taking his hands and almost wrapping them around Tsukishima’s legs. It had only been what felt like a few weeks, and it was almost scary at how quickly Tsukishima found himself getting used to this, the great sex, sleeping with Kuroo just became a part of his daily routine by this point. Not that Tsukishima had a problem with that, he almost found himself enjoying it, it was something so different than what he was used to before, he couldn’t help but look forward to waking up with Kuroo every morning. Wait, look forward to it?

Tsukishima forced himself to get out of whatever train of thought he was in, bringing his attention back over to Kuroo as his rough hands gripped Tsukishima’s hips tightly, like he was trying to hold him as close as he possibly could. He let his lips wander and let them find a comfortable spot on Kuroo’s neck, kissing at the tender flesh as Kuroo moved one of his hands down to Tsukishima’s thighs, running his nails up and down to the point of almost scratching him. His hand moved quickly to remove the only piece of fabric that was left on Tsukishima’s body.

“Kuroo!” Tsukishima tried to keep his voice down, moving his hands from Kuroo’s shoulders up to his hair, his hair felt thicker than normal, like a tangled mess as Tsukishima curled his fingers in it.

Tsukishima rolled his head back, making a ‘thud’ noise as it hit the wall behind him, he moved one of his hands around Kuroo’s shoulder, to brace himself up as Kuroo picked him up off the ground, keeping his legs wrapped around Kuroo’s thighs, making Tsukishima’s head almost hit the ceiling of the dressing room from how tall he was. That still didn’t stop Kuroo from running his hands alongside the outside of Tsukishima’s thighs, making the blonde almost bite down on his own lip as he did so. Why was Kuroo so perfect? Tsukishima couldn’t help but wonder as he felt his body rocking against Kuroo.

“Tsukki. You’re so cute.” Kuroo whispered as he held Tsukishima close to him, causing Tsukishima to scowl and his face turn a very daunting shade of pink with embarrassment. Yet somehow, Tsukishima didn’t mind. 

Bokuto had kept pestering him about if he liked Kuroo the way he (Bokuto) liked Akaashi, and he always told him no. Kuroo was just the guy he was fucking, the guy who was paying him, his sugar daddy. This relationship would probably end soon, but right now, Tsukishima would have given anything to stay like this with Kuroo. But instead of telling Kuroo any of this, all he could do was retort.

“You always say that, now shut up and fuck me.”

“As you wish, kitten.”

 

“Well, well, well. Looks like we’re not the only ones who had some fun in the dressing room.” Not even two seconds after Kuroo and Tsukishima got their feet outside the door to the small dressing room, which was just as uncomfortable as it sounded, Bokuto and Akaashi were waiting their eagerly.

How long had it been exactly? No less than ten minutes. Tsukishima thought as him and Kuroo wasted no time at all putting their clothes back on from inside the dressing room, it wasn’t hard, but then again, Tsukishima wasn’t wearing that much to begin with. The look of enervation on their faces no doubt gave away what they did in there, not that anyone goes into a dressing room for more than twenty minutes on end without doing something like that.

Tsukishima could already feel the exhaustion from where Kuroo made his whole body crumble under his touch, panting and struggling to control himself, and several visible marks already showing on his neck, and scratches down Kuroo’s back.

“Sounds like you two went all the way in there. You were being pretty noisy.” Akaashi smirked slightly, his hair looked a bit messier than usual, like he just rolled out of bed and hadn’t ran a comb through it yet. Looking at his hair made him think that maybe they should buy Kuroo a comb while they were here.

“Oh, were we?” Kuroo smirked back at them, a pleased look in his eyes and in his voice as he wrapped an arm around Tsukishima, making the blonde click his tongue as he was pulled into the bedheads warmth. “And what did you two do exactly?” Kuroo’s voice had a ‘hum’ to it as he almost teased his two friends, getting the same teasing reaction out of them. To Tsukishima’s surprise, he wasn’t provoking them this time.

“Akaashi has the best mouth.” Bokuto boasted, leaning in and kissing Akaashi on the lips, he didn’t even need to say anything after that, because everything else was implied. 

Normally, Tsukishima probably would have rolled his eyes, scowled, or made some comment to himself about how he didn’t need to know about their sex life out in the open like this, but his mental energy felt almost depleted. Most of the time him and Kuroo had sex, it was followed by a nap or actual sleep, Tsukishima could already feel himself becoming drowsy as he caught a glimpse of the familiar piece of black fabric in his hands.

“We’re not buying that.” He said with a serious, flat down, using his index finger to point down at the booty shorts Kuroo held in his hand. 

“Tsukki, we have to, these are good luck! I’m gonna get laid whenever you wear these!” Kuroo whined, that provoking look now returning to his face. Was he really going to try to do something like this right now? Tsukishima swore he could tolerate this guy, but he had a really shitty side of his personality, and this was that side.

“I find that hard to believe. I wore them because Bokuto dragged me into it.” Tsukishima tried his best to remain stern. ‘Don’t give in, Tsukishima, don’t give in’. Though, he knew it was already too late, when you get into this kind of thought process it’s like you’ve already lost. Tsukishima was sure he heard Oikawa say something like this the other day, ‘trying not to think about something is the same as thinking about it’, or something along those lines.

“Excuse me.” A voice broke through their conversation, a voice that Tsukishima thought he might have recognized at first, he thought it was the voice of the cashier at the front of the store, probably doing the usual ‘checking up on the customers’ banter. Now that he thought about it, they had probably been in the store for a pretty decent amount of time, longer than most people would stay in a store like this. It was only when he didn’t say anything, that Tsukishima realized this guy wasn’t an employee.

“Oh no, we’re fine.” Kuroo turned his head to the side, waving his arm in a friendly manner towards the guy, he probably thought the same thing Tsukishima did. 

With that, Tsukishima couldn’t help but turn his head too, he wasn’t quite sure why, but the voice had somewhat of a familiar ring to it, he thought maybe he heard it earlier when they first walked into the store, or maybe it was someone he went to school with.

When he made eye contact with the blonde, whose hair was only slightly darker than his own, Tsukishima felt the entire life get sucked out of him. It was like a horror movie, but instead of being brought face to face with some sort of villain or monster, he was brought with him.

“Akiteru?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry this chapter was a little bit later than I wanted it to be, we've been having terrible thunderstorms where I live this week, and that's been causing my internet to go out, but here it finally is. I honestly had no idea what I was doing with this chapter, I wanted to add more Bokuto and Akaashi into the story, and then this happened haha. Next chapter we'll find out what happens when Tsukishima runs into his older brother. Also, thank you guys so much for the support on the last chapter, I didn't expect the Oikawa and Iwaizumi chapters to do nearly so well, so there will also be more of that soon. :)


	8. Unexpected Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima confronts his brother after unexpectedly running into him while shopping, later, him and Kuroo learn a little bit more about each other, and Kuroo invites him to be his plus one at a business party.

“What are you doing here, nii-chan?” Tsukishima, in an almost hurried manner, threw Kuroo’s arms off of his shoulders, it almost made him feel alarmed at how quickly he did it, no doubt surprising Kuroo, as well as Bokuto and Akaashi. He adjusted himself, to the best of his ability to try to make sure he didn’t just look like a wreck. Not even five minutes ago, Kuroo and himself were fucking in the dress room, their hands all over each other’s sweaty bodies as Kuroo mumbled things into Tsukishima’s ear, things that he was far too shameful to repeat, but now, he was looking at the innocent eyes of his older brother. He was smiling at him curiously, as if he almost didn’t recognize him, and if Tsukishima didn’t look back at him maybe he wouldn’t have. But what exactly was he doing Tokyo?

Tsukishima didn’t really have a bad relationship with his brother, but by the time Tsukishima got into high school, Akiteru had already been off at college for a few years, they had no real connection, other than when he would occasionally come home on the weekends and on breaks, and for what it was worth, they pretty much had opposite personalities. With Tsukishima being the closed off, rarely socializing type of person, and Akiteru being the more open and friendly, talked too much type of person. Most times, people didn’t even know they were related until they said something, even with their similar rare-colored hair and above average height.

That being said, Akiteru was still the overly-doting brother type, he always made a big fuss about Tsukishima whenever he came home, worrying about him not making friends, worrying about his glasses, even more recently, worrying about him going to college and making sure he was taken care of. He was the one who kept pushing their parents to send money to Tsukishima in the first place, probably also feeding into their mothers natural worry over her younger son. Some days he was more like a mom than a brother. Tsukishima wondered if he really did need to be so protective all the time. Of course, Tsukishima found it all incredibly annoying, and if you combine that with the fact his brother was completely dense about most things, it caused more of a headache than anything else. 

“Mom and dad were worrying about you.” Akiteru placed his hands on his hips, eyeing Tsukishima, it almost made it look like he didn’t even notice Kuroo and everyone else. Though, if he didn’t, that was probably a good thing. Tsukishima knew he was dense, but did he really not notice the man in a suit who had his arm wrapped around him only a few moment ago? Most people would say something about that, right? And it wasn’t like Kuroo was invisible, he was the type who would stick out whenever he went somewhere, he just had that kind of personality and aura around him, and not just from his terrible bedhead.

“Ah, well I did move recently.” Tsukishima made sure to keep his words bland, and calm, he needed a way to dodge this conversation, as well as feed this brother enough of the truth so he would be satisfied, and not let on about his and Kuroo’s ‘arrangement’. The only one that even knew about Kuroo was Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima was pretty content right now on not letting his brother know about this.

Looking at him now, he seemed to be oblivious to everything, wearing one of his usual solid colored t-shirts and jeans, his brother was the walking definition of lax.

“And you didn’t tell them?” He blinked his eyes in confusion, tilting his head to the side as he rested one of his hands against his chin, curling his fingers as if he was pondering something.

“I just didn’t want them to worry more than they do.” If Tsukishima had one thing in common with his brother, is that they both understood their parents, who always worried. Tsukishima was amazed his parents even let him go to school in Tokyo to begin with. He wouldn’t say he grew up living a sheltered life, just shaded, and very cautious. Not that he was much of the party type, so his parents had nothing to worry about when it came to that.

“Kei, you really should-“ His brother began, and Tsukishima was sure he was about to be greeted with one of his usual lectures. He would get them from time to time when his brother would come home from college, they were usually about how Akiteru wanted his brother to be more open and make friends, saying you can’t really be an introvert in today’s society. Tsukishima knew that he meant well, but he just saw it all as a huge headache. For all Tsukishima was concerned, he was fine, he didn’t need to make friends, and one could say that he made enough new friends recently thanks to Kuroo. 

“Akiteru-kun?” Bokuto seemed almost to appear out of nowhere, the way his head popped into the conversation all of a sudden, appearing behind Kuroo and Akaashi. Tsukishima found himself release a slight breath, whether that be from relief or more panic, he wasn’t quite sure. But Bokuto did just save him from a lecture, so he was slightly grateful. At least Bokuto did do something good today other than coaxing Tsukishima to wear some terrible piece of clothing with him. Although, what they wore earlier could hardly be considered ‘clothing’.

“Oh? Bokuto? I didn’t know you were here, you know Kei?” In a matter of what felt like only a few seconds, Akiteru managed to bring all of his attention from over to his younger brother now to Bokuto. Wait, did they know each other? Tsukishima was certain he didn’t remember any of Akiteru’s friends when he was in college, but he was certain he never hung out with anyone like Bokuto, even if it was several years ago.

“You two know each other?” They said it in perfect unison, both Tsukishima and Akiteru as they gave each other a flabbergasted look. His brother was always the naïve type, if you made any sort of sex joke it would probably go right over his head, so how exactly did he know Bokuto? Someone so loud and obnoxious didn’t look like the type of person who would associate themselves with Akiteru. Tsukishima was pretty sure his brother had never had a drink of alcohol in his life either.

“Yeah.” Akiteru nodded, bringing his attention back over to his brother. “Bokuto and I used to go to university together, he was only a first year when I was in my last year, but I remember him.”

“I had no idea you two were related! Though you do have the same last name. So cool!” Bokuto boasted, lifting his arms up in the air as if he was yelling.

“Small world.” Kuroo added in, as if he was trying to make his presence known. It almost made Tsukishima get a knot in his stomach, he didn’t like the idea of his older brother meeting the man he was sleeping with, and not just from his family being very conservative reasons. It was like Kuroo was trying to tempt him, get him to acknowledge him and see how far he could hint at this relationship they were in before Tsukishima scowled at him. He was provoking, like always, but this time it felt like Kuroo was scheming at something bigger, something more than to just get a good fuck out of Tsukishima. He would give anything right now to get him to stop. What was he planning?

“I met Tsukki through Kuroo over here.” Bokuto spoke up again, this time pointing a finger over in Kuroo’s direction, who was now only inches away from swinging his arm around Tsukishima’s waist in a comfortable fashion. “And now we’re totally bffs because of him and Kuroo is also-“

“Hey!” Akaashi spoke up, he all but wrapped his hand around Bokuto’s mouth. Tsukishima could feel a wave of panic rise over him as Bokuto’s sentence went on, before Akaashi shut up his owl obsessed boyfriend. He really shouldn’t be allowed to talk for long periods of time like this, anyone could see that Bokuto was terrible at keeping secrets, and he was bound to blurt something out sooner or later. 

Akaashi seemed to be the only one in this entire room who had a level head right now. The only calm one who wasn’t a show off, and the only one who seemed to be able to keep his mouth shut because he knew what was going on here. 

This was terrible. He had never mentioned it to Kuroo before, but he really didn’t want his family to find out he was gay, but it’s not like you could just play off being friends with someone who was in a completely different social class than you. No matter how you looked at it, this was horrifying. Out of all the possibilities of things that could happen, this was very far down on the list. The dinosaurs being resurrected and destroying earth was higher on the list than this was.

“I’m his roommate.” Kuroo smirked, seeming all too happy to but in on this conversation. “I coaxed him to living with me after I met him the other week at a party, you wouldn’t believe the crappy place he was in before. He really should have gotten a roommate sooner.” Kuroo let a slight friendly chuckle roll off his tongue at the end of the sentence, no doubt using his natural charismatic charms to his advantage here.

“Wait a minut-“ Tsukishima began, he was not giving Kuroo the opportunity to have a free reigned conversation with his brother, who knows what kind of tales he would spin in his favor. Damn this bedhead.

“Really? So you’re the one who has been taking care of my brother these past few weeks?” Tsukishima knew that his brother meant well, but did he have to word it like that? Akiteru was probably thinking that his baby brother could do no wrong, but something about him almost looking at Kuroo with such innocent intentions made this sound ten times worse. And you could easily tell that Kuroo was loving every minute of it. Tsukishima noticed by now that Kuroo loved every opportunity he got to make the blonde squirm.

“That’s right. Don’t worry, I’m taking ‘excellent’ care of him.” The way he let the word ‘excellent’ just linger in the air off of his lips as he slid an arm around Tsukishima, resting his head on the blondes’ shoulder was annoying, like he was implying something, though he knew what he was implying, but the way it almost felt like he was teasing Akiteru pissed him off more. His nose resting against his neck, he could feel his breath hitting up against his skin, sending a chill up his spine as Tsukishima struggled to keep a straight face. Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush. He just kept repeating that to himself over and over again, hoping that it would work. He wanted to yell at him right now, but he couldn’t. He was just banking on the fact that his brother was dense enough to not catch on to what was really go on here.

I guess in a way you could say Kuroo was taking ‘excellent’ care of Tsukishima, but not in the traditional way that Akiteru was thinking. Unless of course he was thinking about someone who lets you live with them rent free, with food, clothes, everything you’ve ever wanted paid for, all in exchange for sex, then yes, you could say Tsukishima was being taken excellent care of. Though, he was sure if his brother knew that, he would probably have a heart attack. No one probably wants to think about their younger sibling doing something like this, let alone doing something like this in exchange for money. Did this make Tsukishima a monster? Because that’s what he felt like. He just wanted to go home and burry his face in a pillow right now and forget today ever happened. Why did he have to meet his brother right here, right now of all places? Couldn’t he have at least called or texted before he showed up? Well, I guess he didn’t know his brother would be here either, but still.

“Say, Tsukki.” Kuroo spoke up again. 

Tsukishima was sure that Kuroo could sense the awkward tension in the room, Akaashi still kept his hand over Bokuto’s mouth, a few muffled noises could be heard from him as he tried so hard to include himself back into the conversation. For a brief moment, Tsukishima wondered what it would have been like if Akaashi was his sugar daddy instead of Kuroo, for no reason in particular, the two of them seemed to be polar opposites, Akaashi was quiet and hardly spoke, a lot like Tsukishima, as to where Kuroo was a show-off, annoying, almost creepy, and was really into sex. Would things be any different for him then? Then again, maybe because Akaashi and Tsukishima, and Kuroo and Bokuto were so much alike was what made their relationship work in the first place. People don’t want to date someone who is exactly like them, Akaashi didn’t want to date another Akaashi, and Kuroo didn’t want to date another Kuroo. Wait, date? Kuroo and Tsukishima weren’t dating, were they? Impossible. Living, sleeping, eating, and having sex with a man didn’t make you a couple, right? The more Tsukishima listened to himself the talk, the more he thought he sounded like him and Kuroo were a couple. But no, you have to have feelings for each other in order to be a couple, and Tsukishima didn’t have feelings for Kuroo, he was certain of it.

Akiteru stared at them with amusement in his eyes, like he was proud or something. Tsukishima already knew that his brother was thinking something along the lines of ‘I’m so proud of Kei for finally making friends besides Yamaguchi’, his brother always did get mushy like that, worrying too much, it was so annoying. Even before he went off to college, his brother did always worry he was not going to make it because of his such hard personality, worrying that he would push people who were only trying to help him. Why must him and his brother be such opposites?

“What?” Tsukishima titled his head to the side, looking at Kuroo as if he was waiting for the bedhead to finish his thought.

“Didn’t you say that you had a paper that was coming up and you wanted to get home to write it?” Kuroo widened his eyes at Tsukishima, as if he was saying something that Tsukishima should know what he was talking about. It was more like he was giving him a look that said he should just go along with whatever he said.

“What are you-“ Tsukishima looked at him, puzzled. What was he talking about? Tsukishima was always the type of person to do all of his work for school weeks in advance, even with missing classes a lot more frequently now, he always made sure all of his assignments were done early. So, what was Kuroo talking about? Wait, as if a lightbulb went off in Tsukishima’s head. Was Kuroo trying to help him, help get him out of this awkward situation?

“Well if you have a paper due, I can’t keep you. I’ll tell mom and dad you’re living with a roommate now, so everything’s fine.” Akiteru placed his hands on his hips, a smile spreading across his face as Kuroo hurriedly shoved him and Tsukishima towards the door. (With those damn booty shorts still in his hands). “Oh, and Kuroo.” Akiteru added. “Please do keep taking care of my brother, he can be a real handful at times.” Akiteru laughed, making Tsukishima spin his head around to send his brother a death glare. If looks could kill.

Akiteru took a few steps over to where Bokuto and Akaashi were, Akaashi finally releasing Bokuto from his grasp and letting him talk again. You could hear a big breath being released from the owl haired man as he began to talk again. It was almost humorous to hear him whine and cry ‘Akaashi, that’s not fair’. A few small words could be heard as it sounded like Bokuto and Akiteru caught up on old times, apparently, they had similar tastes, and that’s why Akiteru came to this store, to buy souvenirs for his parents back home of all things. Maybe those two did really have a few things in common. But still, talk about terrible timing. Was that the only reason why Akiteru was here? Just to buy gifts for mom and dad. Tsukishima still couldn’t help but feel like something was off here, like he was still panicked, but to tried to throw those thoughts out of his mind as they got closer and closer to the door, closer and closer to freedom from this conversation.

Tsukishima brought his attention back over to Kuroo, who was still just as close to him as ever as he paid for the shorts. If today couldn’t get any worse, he now had those ‘things’ to add to a permanent part of his wardrobe.

“So, looks like you owe me one now. I just saved you from what would have been the most awkward conversation of your life.” He smirked, more than proud of himself, with that same provoking, teasing tone in his voice.

“Tch.” Tsukishima clicked his tongue, still hearing the sounds of Bokuto yelling from a few feet away. “You didn’t save me.” Despite Kuroo did get him out of this conversation, Tsukishima was still fairly confident that he would have been able to talk a good excuse into his brother with Kuroo’s help. He didn’t ‘save him’, he just helped him a little bit.

“Oh, I think I did, and now you owe me. let’s see… what do I want, ooh, I know. How about you and me go back home, and then I can t-“

“Will you keep your voice down! He’s still right over there! Just take me home.” Tsukishima wasn’t sure why his tone was so hushed and hurried, like he was panicking, the thought of his brother hearing Kuroo say those things to him, even if he was pretty dense about these sorts of things was the last thing he wanted right now, even if he was several feet away by this point and probably couldn’t hear her it, he couldn’t risk it.

“Someone’s bossy today, I see. And you didn’t even muster a ‘thank you Kuroo, I really do owe you one now’.” Kuroo was teasing him, provoking him, and doing a damn good job at it too. Tsukishima couldn’t tell if he wanted to smack him or kiss him, he had these feelings like this a lot, but today those feelings felt exceptionally strong. So noticeable that there was no use denying them right now. Fuck.

“I’m not dropping down on my knees and telling you that you’re my saving grace. My brothers pretty dense so there’s probably no way he would have figured it out. Now, I know it was a lie, but I actually do have a paper to write when we get home, so thank you.” Tsukishima found himself being more pleasant today than usual, maybe it was just from the sex, or from Kuroo being overly flirty, or from seeing his brother, but right now he might just do Kuroo any favor he asked of him. And it wasn’t like he was a child anymore anyways, he was an adult in every sense of the word, who cares if his brother and family found out he was gay and had a sugar daddy?

“What’s this? My Tsukki being pleasant and not snarky all the time? It’s a miracle.”

“I’m not snarky all the time. You just piss me off and push my buttons.”

“But yet you don’t deny being mine? Tsukki, I must say I like this side of you.”

Tsukishima sighed in annoyance, what did he just open up. It was like every day he was growing more and more comfortable with Kuroo, more used to him, more used to his kisses, the way he touches him, the passes he made at him. It really was like they were a couple. Ugh, he really wanted to go home and forget today even happened.

“Whatever. I really do have a paper to write.” Tsukishima sighed again, thinking over his words carefully as he almost repeated himself. What was he about to say? “And maybe I’ll do you a favor when we get home.” Did he really just say that? Sure, in some ways he did owe Kuroo, but giving a guy like that free reign over something like this was bound not to be a good idea. And plus, he did wear those shorts for Kuroo earlier, so it was like they already were even.

Kuroo gasped almost with excitement. “Really Tsukki? Well in that case, I have a few things in mind that I would like to try tonight.”

“Don’t get excited, I said one favor.” Tsukishima knew he would already instantly regret that decision as he put the emphasis on ‘one’, but yet, here he was. Almost smiling to himself as Kuroo rattled the various ideas he had, most of them far too shameful for him to even think about repeating with his brother only a few feet away. He made sure not to let on any indication that he was actually considering doing any of these things for Kuroo. 

The two of them walked out the door, giving friendly waves towards Bokuto, Akaashi, and his brothers direction as it felt like they dodged a bullet today. Once out of sight, Kuroo planted a kiss on Tsukishima’s lips, like he was happy to be alone with him, and proud as they made their way out of the mall and into his car.

Once inside, Kuroo rang in his ear, in a seductive, soft spoken voice, as if he wanted to continue the conversation they were having. “But it’s still a favor, Tsukki.”

 

“So, how did you know?” Tsukishima briefly raised his eyes up from his laptop on the table, his eyes starting to feel tired from looking at the screen for too long. He found himself hesitantly making conversation as Kuroo sat next to him. “How did you know that my brother wouldn’t figure us out?” There was a sense of regret in his words as Tsukishima looked over at Kuroo. 

The two boys were sitting side by side at the long, rectangular, dining room table in the middle of the afternoon, though it was probably getting closer to evening by now, Tsukishima’s fingers making quick work on the keyboard as he typed word after word for his paper. He wasn’t even sure how something like this slipped his mind, maybe it was just from all of the distractions around him recently. And it wasn’t like he had a chance to ask Kuroo much of anything as they were with Bokuto and Akaashi today, and soon after that with his brother.

Kuroo smirked, sitting next to the blonde and smiling as he rested one of his elbows on the table, letting his hand rest against his head. It almost appeared like he was smiling in amusement, as his eyes refused to be taken off of Tsukishima. What was with him today? He seemed almost relentless, and every time Tsukishima scowled at him, that only seemed to make it all the worse, like he was just begging for him to strike up a conversation. Was he really still hung up about Tsukishima owing him one? No, Kuroo wasn’t the type of guy who would care about stuff like that. He would tease Tsukishima about it, but when it came down to it, he wouldn’t care either way.

From the very moment they got back from the mall, Tsukishima grabbed his laptop and started working on this paper he had to do, it didn’t take long for Kuroo to sit down next to him and watch him in amusement. They didn’t talk, but Tsukishima could feel Kuroo’s eyes on him as he typed away at the screen. He still felt slightly drowsy from today, and it was almost like his mind grew more exhausted as he stared at the white screen. He could go for a distraction right now, so striking up a conversation with Kuroo seemed to be his best option. Plus, he learned more about Bokuto and Akaashi today, so why shouldn’t he at least make some sort of similar attempt to learn more about the man he was living with? 

“I have a sixth sense for this sort of thing.” Kuroo began, almost laughing as he relaxed himself in the chair he was sitting in, the late afternoon sunlight could be seen coming in from the windows behind him, casting a glow against his dark hair, making his face more visible than it normally is with his messy hair. “Plus, your brother seemed pretty dense, I don’t think he would have thought we were actually doing anything unless I pretty much started kissing you. Though, I feel like he would have been okay with it either way, your brother seemed oblivious but supportive of whatever you do.” There was a bowl in the middle of the table that was filled with potato chips, and Kuroo reached forward and ate one. For a rich business guy, he ate more junk food than most college students Tsukishima knew. Though, if definitely was a step towards comfort than the usual French food Kuroo would always order for them.

“Well, let’s not tempt fate. The last thing I want right now is to get an angry call from my parents because they found out their youngest son is gay.”

“Would it really be that bad if they found out we’re fucking, and that you like it?” Kuroo was prying, but more than that, he was flirting, the way he let his other hand fall lightly on top of Tsukishima’s, tracing circles over top of his hand as he had a certain seductive ring to his words. Tsukishima saw him briefly lick over his lips with his tongue as he muttered out ‘like it’. It was almost like a pick-up line someone uses drunkenly at a club to get someone to go home with him, it would have been gross normally, a desperate attempt. But, why was it so almost intoxicating to look at Kuroo as he did it? Tsukishima felt like he was in a trance the longer he stared at the bedhead, like he was already lost in his eyes.

“Can you please not do things like that? It makes you sound like a creepy old guy.” Tsukishima scowled, shaking Kuroo’s hand off of his as he continued to type away at his laptop. He wasn’t even sure what his paper was about anymore. “We all can’t have the luxury of being a rich, attractive businessman from Tokyo.” He meant it sarcastically as he heard Kuroo crunch on another chip, there was no doubt that there was salt all over his fingers and lips by this point, and the noise of him crunching filled his ears as he leaned in closer to him. 

Of course, Kuroo wouldn’t be able to fully understand Tsukishima in a situation like this, they came from two different parts of Japan, different social classes. Kuroo probably never had to worry about anything, his parents probably just went with the flow and let him do whatever he wanted, completely different from Tsukishima. It shouldn’t be bothering him like it was, but he still couldn’t shake the uneasiness of what happened today. What if it was his parents who he ran into instead of his brother? What would he have done then? Normally it wouldn’t be so easy to play off Kuroo as just his attractive roommate, plus his parents weren’t nearly as dense as his brother was. And even if he was able to, it was only a matter of time until he was found out. It wasn’t a lie, but it more like living a double life. Except instead of being some secret agent like in the movies, Tsukishima was just a normal college student who was fucking a rich, attractive twenty-three-year-old man, it was far less exciting than it sounded.

Tsukishima thought for a moment that this must be how Oikawa felt with Iwaizumi, having to lie, keep secrets, and beg other people to help him just so you can pull this off, he knew it was probably only going to end badly for him, but he did it anyways. A lot like Tsukishima right now. If he was really that scared of his parents finding out, he could just end things with Kuroo, they weren’t bound by any sort of contract, Tsukishima could leave and go back to being just a college student whenever he wanted, so why didn’t he just do that? Surely it would be easier, less of a headache. And it’s not like a guy like Kuroo would have a hard time finding someone else to sleep with. But when Tsukishima looked over at Kuroo, he felt a sense of warmth, or comfort, like maybe he was starting to like it here, and like Kuroo. When he looked at him now it was almost like his mind rejected the thought of leaving him, like it was impossible by this point, maybe Kuroo was right and they were connected.

“You know.” Kuroo sighed. “I told you this on the day we first met, Tsukki, but if you still feel uncomfortable with the title of ‘sugar daddy’ and ‘sugar baby’, I’m fine with being your boyfriend. You’re pretty cute, so I’d probably do it for you.” Was that Kuroo’s way of implying he knew how Tsukishima felt right now? Was this his way of trying to comfort him? Because it wasn’t fucking working. Sometimes comforting words from someone who you can’t relate to at all means absolutely nothing.

“I’d really rather not. We’re just fucking, there’s nothing more to it.” Tsukishima sighed, going back to typing away on his laptop as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

It was strange, but it almost felt like the atmosphere around them had changed, Kuroo and him never really did talk. Most of the conversations they shared over the past few weeks were just Kuroo flirting with him, asking him vague questions about how his day went, or telling him they should go shopping. He got to learn a little about him from Bokuto and Oikawa, but for the most part, all Tsukishima knew about Kuroo was that he was a rich, retired athlete with a strangely really high sex drive, who couldn’t cook, and he had a love for cats. Then again, he guess Kuroo probably knew just as much about him. If they were fucking each other, shouldn’t they know more about each other, even if this was just a sex arrangement sort of thing.

Tsukishima always considered himself to be an easy person to read once you got to know him, he hated people, hated talking to people, he pushed people away the first chance he had, which made him jaded and a bit of an asshole. Kuroo on the other hand was hard to read, and outside of sex, what did Tsukishima really know about him? Was he actually curious about this other person?

“If you say so, Tsukki.” Kuroo was teasing him, as if he knew there was more to their relationship than just sex, and to an extent he was right. You don’t live with a man for over a month with nothing but just sex. “What’s your paper about?” Kuroo seemed more than curious to change the subject, as he leaned over from next to him, his eyes looking over the words on the page.

“It’s nothing, it’s not important.” Tsukishima sighed with annoyance, he wasn’t annoyed right now, that was just his initial reaction when it came to everything. He also hated people looking over his shoulder like that, like they were spying on him. He could assure Kuroo right now that the paper he was working on was nothing important, it wasn’t even on the better end of papers he had written. It was nothing to be curious about. 

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while, but what exactly brought you to ‘The Lions’ Den’?” Tsukishima wasn’t sure why that was the first thing to pop into his head, but when the only common ground you have with someone is sex, what else are you really supposed to talk about?

“Oh, so you’re that curious about me, Tsukki?” Kuroo smirked, some laughter escaping his lips as he reached for another chip.

“Not really curious. You just know about my brother, and the kind of situation I’m in, wouldn’t it be an insult for me not to know more about you?”

“Very well my little kitten, let’s see, where do I begin?” Kuroo trailed off, and Tsukishima knew that if he didn’t stop him there would be no end to it. His sarcastic, snarky mouth had always gotten him into trouble in the past, but this time it was different. Sure, Tsukishima found himself being mildly curious about Kuroo, but it didn’t end there for him. He knew he was growing more attached to the man by the day, but this was almost too much for his mind to comprehend. Why did he care so much about this man? And more importantly, why did Kuroo forcefully shove his way into Tsukishima’s life? He was grateful for the money, but the emotional attachment was a bit much.

“I asked you how you started using ‘The Lion’s Den’, not your life story.” Tsukishima scowled.

“As cold as ever, aren’t you, Tsukki? Well, since I am your daddy, I do owe you an explanation. Let’s see, well I’m sure as you can guess by now, I am a bit weird, I’ve only slept with a handful of people in my life, you, Oikawa, Bokuto and Akaashi once in a threesome, never doing that again, and two boyfriends back in my college days. Once I started playing sports professionally it became rather hard to keep up with relationships, and even after sports the only types of people that want to date a young businessman are the types who want to settle down immediately, or the types who only want your wealth.”

“And you want more of a ‘steady relationship’ with good sex but not the immediate stuff like that, right?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him, as if he knew and understood what he was talking about. Kuroo may have been a mystery to Tsukishima, but he was still obvious and easy to read sometimes.

“Exactly, you get me so well Tsukki, see, I knew there was a good reason as to why I picked you.”

“Wouldn’t a dating site be better though? Hooking up with someone over the internet seems kind of risky. Especially for a website that’s just for sex.” Tsukishima remembered that he asked Kuroo that when they first met too, but he didn’t think he would get much of an answer out of him this time either. To some extent, what he was doing didn’t make sense, but at the same time, it made too much sense. Kuroo wanted a steady relationship and good sex, since he couldn’t find one, he settled for the other.

“Normally yes, though that did seem to work for Oikawa, but most people who want any sort of serious relationship run away at the first sign of my high sex drive.” Kuroo laughed, placing a hand on the back of his head before returning it back onto the table.

So that was the mystery, Kuroo was a guy who wanted to real romance but his overly high sex drive stopped anyone and everyone from getting close to him. It was more of a let down than Tsukishima thought. But, he was never one to pry, and that was already enough talking for one day to satisfy whatever strange curiosity was in the blonde. He was jaded and Kuroo was a sex maniac, together they made quite a pair. 

“What about you, Tsukki?” Kuroo leaned in closer to the blonde, becoming inches away from his face, that provoking smile as he eyes the boy curiously. “What about you? Got any exes I should worry about?”

“What are you talking about?” Tsukishima snickered. “I’m not one for dating. You should know by now that I’m just a college kid who was desperate for money with really homophobic conservative parents.” Since when did today become the ‘let’s talk about our feelings and pasts’ day? Tsukishima wanted to know a little bit more about the man he was fucking, that was all, he didn’t want to write a fucking paper about the guy. But still, he couldn’t stop himself from being satisfied with this new information.

“Is that all?” Kuroo continued to smirk at him, sending a chill down his spine. “Nothing else you want to open up to me about? You know, if you’re feeling frustrated about running into your brother today, you can always take it out on me, Tsukki. My lips and body are yours too, you know? Our relationship goes both ways. If you ever want to, you could just come and take me, kiss me, touch me, fondle me, I’m all yours, Tsukki.” Kuroo almost purred like a kitten, as he brought his face close to Tsukishima’s ear, feeling his breath hit up against his flesh. Why was he always like this? 

Living with Kuroo was like living with a little kid, half of time it was manageable, he just made passes at Tsukishima and was only slightly annoying, but the other times, the times like this, he was less manageable. The way he seemed almost needy and clingy, as he leaned himself up against Tsukishima, wrapping one of his arms around his back in an attempt to pull him closer was more abominable than anything. But despite how insufferable it was, Tsukishima smiled to himself when he looked down and saw he was there, he had gotten used to him, like a stray cat that sits outside your door and refuses to go away. Yeah, a stray cat described Kuroo pretty nicely.

“Come on, I have a paper to write.” Tsukishima spoke softly, only turning his head ever so slightly to the side to barely bring Kuroo into his view. “If you let me finish writing this, I’ll do that favor for you later, okay?” Tsukishima hated using a card like that, mainly because it sounded so out of character for him, and on top of all that made him sound like some vindictive super villain, but he knew exactly what to say to Kuroo to get him to get off of him right now. In a matter of seconds, he would probably say something like-

“Tsukki, you can’t do this to me. You can’t tell me something like that and then expect me not to get excited.” Kuroo cooed in his ear once again, making it very difficult for Tsukishima to even focus on the words he was typing on his screen, the page felt so blank and white that it was almost like it was blinding. Had he really written this little? They had been sitting at this table for what had to be over thirty minutes now, there was no way his paper could be this blank.

“You are like a needy kitten, you know that?” Tsukishima scowled again, his usual scowl that really had no emotion in it as he averted his eyes from the bedhead.

“I’m your kitten, Tsukki. Oh, by the way.” He seemed to snap out of whatever needy mood he was in, his arm still wrapped tightly around the blonde’s shoulder as he raised his head up. “Are you free this weekend?”

“I’m free every weekend.” Tsukishima remained to speak calmly. 

Why was Kuroo asking if he was free? You didn’t even have to know Tsukishima to know that he was the type of person who didn’t do much outside of studying on the weekends. His life pretty much revolved around school, books, studying, and now begrudgingly, Kuroo. if anything, you could say that Kuroo was his plans for the weekend. He already just sort of expected it in his mind that the two of them would probably go shopping again. It was probably about that time again where Kuroo wanted to switch out from buying clothes and wanted to buy furniture instead. It happened every few weeks, he would take Tsukishima to one of local, higher end furniture stores in the mall, telling the blonde to pick out anything and everything he liked. They had only done this once or twice, but already Kuroo’s penthouse looked a lot more lively than when Tsukishima first arrived here those some-odd weeks ago.

The first time they did it, Kuroo bought Tsukishima a handful of books and a stereo, saying ‘he saw him with some headphones in as he walked from the car to school one day, and now he could listen to music in home too’, Tsukishima never used the thing, but it was a nice gesture. Outside of his few dinosaur figures, music was really all Tsukishima had at the time. The books on the other hand, Kuroo just said ‘you seem like the kind of person who liked to read’, which was probably more of a remark about the stereotype about how Tsukishima wears glasses more than anything, but it was still nice. 

Kuroo had a small library section in the corner of his penthouse, Tsukishima noticed it the first day he met Kuroo, but never used it. It was right next to the window with a handful of shelves lining the walls, most of them were empty, until Tsukishima got there and started using it. It was just a small area with two chairs, and a table in the middle with a wooden desk lamp, but Tsukishima often would find himself visiting it in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep. Like it was his own little private study section. Of course, he would usually only be there for no longer than five or ten minutes before Kuroo would join him, taking a seat down in the other chair. This usually would happen after they already had their ‘fun’ that night, Kuroo would fall asleep and Tsukishima would sneak out, mainly from not being able to fall asleep. Though, it wasn’t really sneaking, sneaking out would imply that he was doing something wrong, like he was trying to hide something.

Kuroo would always ask him what he was doing, what he was reading, and if he couldn’t sleep; most of the time he would just get vague answers, but occasionally Tsukishima would answer him truthfully, telling him to go back to bed, he of course never did. Maybe Kuroo just wanted to keep him company as he read in the middle of the night under the harsh lighting of the desk lamp, or maybe he actually was curious as to why someone would sneak out of a room in the middle of the night only to read. He thought that Kuroo probably thought that he was weird, though, having a twenty-three-year-old who willingly paid you just to have sex with him didn’t make Kuroo’s opinion on him very valid in times like this. So, you could sort of say they were even.

There came a point when Tsukishima started to just leave their room in the middle of the night just for fun. There wasn’t a particular book that he wanted to read or anything, he just left because. Sometimes he even found himself looking towards the direction of Kuroo’s room, down that long hallway, and hoping that he would hear the feint noise of the door opening, followed by those whispered barefoot footsteps, and the sight of that bedhead and those sleepy eyes of his.

“Tsukki, did you hear me?” Kuroo spoke again, bringing Tsukishima out of his thoughts. Was he really just thinking about Kuroo in the middle of the afternoon like this, and thinking about Kuroo’s sleepy face of all things?

“Uh… sorry, I was thinking.” Tsukishima shook it off, bringing his face back down to the almost blank page on his laptop. “Can you repeat what you said?”

“It’s fine.” Kuroo smirked. “There’s going to be a party with some of the younger business associates this weekend, just some people I work with or who have helped the company in the past. Oikawa will be there and so will Akaashi, he’ll also probably bring Bokuto as his plus one. I’m required to go, but I figured it’d be really boring for you to spend Friday night here all by yourself.”

“Are you asking me on a date, Kuroo?” Tsukishima turned his head to the side, smirking, Kuroo seemed more flustered than usual. Normally with something like this he would just say ‘Tsukki, we’re going to a party’, a lot like how he always just told him they were going shopping in the heat of the moment. 

“Only if you want it to be a date, Tsukki.” He returned Tsukishima with that Cheshire-like grin, provoking, it was a look he felt like he hadn’t seen in several minutes.

“When you say ‘party’, do you mean like the ones you threw here with Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa?”

“More or less.” Tsukishima always hated that saying, it was about as vague of a statement as you could get. Which was it, more or less? As if Kuroo caught on to how annoyed saying that made Tsukishima, he continued. “There will be a lot more drinking there, most of the time, a bunch of people wearing stuffy suits won’t socialize with each other without alcohol.” He laughed as if it were an almost awkward joke. “You’ll have to wear one of the suits I got you, but other than that it should be pretty normal. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the big, bad, scary people of the businessmen world.”

“I don’t need protecting, but thank you. I’ll go.”

“You will?” Kuroo looked at Tsukishima almost in disbelief. He probably figured Tsukishima wasn’t the type of person for actual parties, and for the most part, he was right. Tsukishima would probably do anything and everything he possibly could to avoid something like this. So why exactly did he agree to this without a second thought?

“Don’t act so surprised, you’re the one who asked, and it’s like you said, it’s either that or stay home here on Friday night alone. I don’t think I’ll be much for conversation though.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Tsukki. Just stick by me and you’ll be fine. Most people will probably be too buzzed to even acknowledge anyone other than their self.” Kuroo laughed again.

“You say that as if you won’t be one of them.” Tsukishima had seen Kuroo drunk a handful of times before, he was basically like he always was, except it was like the self-conscious part of his brain was turned off, like there was nothing telling him to stop flirting and making passes at Tsukishima. Tsukishima was probably just the most thankful that Kuroo wasn’t a ‘stripper’ drunk or the kind of person who gets all unnecessarily clingy when they’re not sober.

They had had a number of parties at Kuroo’s place since Tsukishima met them, but the only real unmanageable one when it came to drinking was Bokuto, he got all clingy to Akaashi when he had more than two drinks of alcohol. It made Tsukishima wonder how Akaashi even put up with that. So Kuroo definitely wasn’t terrible when it came to drinking.

“Well I can actually keep it together pretty well around people that I have to be professional around.” Kuroo smirked again, planting a soft kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek as he leaned into him, he could smell the salt on him from all the chips he had eaten.

Tsukishima had seen Kuroo in a suit multiple times, it was pretty much the only thing he wore around him, but the idea of him being professional, sitting in a meeting with other people, probably all stiff and boring as they talked about plans for some commercial or event seemed rather far-fetched right now. Maybe it was just hard to imagine the guy that you’ve been sleeping with being serious, especially when he came across as a half-provoking asshole, and a half-needy kitten, but Tsukishima didn’t believe it. Then again, most people probably wouldn’t believe him if he said he actually enjoyed being with Kuroo half the time, most people would probably say Tsukishima didn’t look like he enjoyed doing anything.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Tsukishima almost felt like he was talking to himself right now, as he closed his laptop, realizing the mood in the room was not going to let him finish, or even start on his paper. Not that he was in that much of a hurry to do it as it was. Tsukishima always did his work weeks in advance, he could always work on it again when Kuroo was gone for work during the middle of the week, so he would be fine.

“Believe it, Tsukki. Now, if I remember correctly, you still owe me a favor.” Kuroo seemed all too happy to remind him of that, taking notice as Tsukishima put his laptop away. 

Tsukishima stood up from what felt like the cramped dining table, the whole room around him was spacious, but it felt like he had been sitting in the same position for hours. His muscles felt all cramped as he stretched, and he felt Kuroo stand up from behind him, instantly interlocking his own hands with the taller blondes, it was like he was coaxing him to follow him, as he led him in the direction of the hallway, towards the bedroom. Maybe he was just in a better mood now, but after the events of running into his brother at the store earlier, and learning a little bit more about Kuroo, Tsukishima felt exceedingly happy, so happy that he might actually do what Kuroo wanted him to do right now – might.

Tsukishima smirked at him, he had been doing a lot of that today. His hand squeezed onto Kuroo’s as he followed the bedhead down the hallway. It almost felt like they were dancing, with how slow they walked on the balls of their feet. Tsukishima moved forward, placing his lips against Kuroo’s as he slid his hand around his back. He let his lips linger on his for a moment longer than normal, like he was teasing him, before he whispered something that he knew would get Kuroo’s attention. “What do you want me to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first chapter for this story that I've wrote that I feel kind of 'meh' on, but here it is. We've also had a lot of rain storms where I live this past week (again), and my internet was out for two days, but it's back on now, and hopefully I can continue to write more. As always, thank you guys so much for the comments on the last chapter, it definitely helps me out when it comes to writing this story. Next chapter will be the Tsukishima and Kuroo going to his business party, and I'm really looking forward to start writing it. :)


	9. A Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo brings Tsukishima to a business party as his plus one, where he has pleasant conversations with Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa. Later, Tsukishima tries to keep a drunk Kuroo under control, and learns a 'secret' that he wasn't expecting.

The air reeked of alcohol and cologne, the cheap kind, the kind that they stick in those obnoxious perfume booths they have at the mall, or the ads you sometimes find when you’re flipping through a magazine, the kind that make you feel overwhelmed and like your nostrils might give out and you may never be able to smell anything again. Tsukishima knew all this before coming here, but the smell still shocked him as he clung close to Kuroo, feeling the eyes on him. It was like they were shopping all over again, but this time it only made Tsukishima feel more vulnerable as he knew everyone looking at him knew he must be Kuroo’s date, his plus one. He could already hear the feint gossip from behind him as they passed the groups of crowded people.

‘Who’s that?’ One person would ask, leaning into another. ‘No idea, I think he’s Kuroo’s plus one.’ ‘Plus one? You mean Kuroo has a date?’ ‘The way I heard it, he’s taken up in being a part of the sugar daddy business’ ‘You don’t mean..?’

Tsukishima would always force himself to tune everything out right after that. They always did say news travels fast, and this was proof of that. But hearing people gossip after you only a few feet away, treating you as if you weren’t even in the room would piss anybody off. It wasn’t like they were at a place where Tsukishima could scowl or yell at them, he didn’t want to ruin this night for Kuroo. He still didn’t know what he did or how important he or his father were to the company, but the last thing he wanted was to cause a scene. But it especially pissed off Tsukishima, like they were reminding him of his place, like he shouldn’t be here. This was a party for business associates and others who worked in the same line of work as Kuroo, even if they were allowed to bring a plus one, Tsukishima felt like he didn’t belong here at all. Maybe staying home tonight would have been a better option.

Tsukishima wasn’t entirely sure why he agreed to this in the first place. He was free tonight, like every other night, with the exception of the occasional late night lab that happened once every month or so, and he knew it was either this or spend the rest of the night home alone with the cat, but what exactly made him so willing to follow the bed headed man to a place like this? Tsukishima felt very out of place right now, and he didn’t like it, not for one way or another.

Prior to arriving here this was one of a handful of times that Tsukishima had put on a suit, he was still getting used to it, the way the smooth material felt against his skin was more alarming than he thought it would be. Did they really make clothes that were this soft? The suit itself was custom made, one of very few things that actually fit Tsukishima’s size perfectly, somehow it managed to make his generally lanky shoulders seem more extensive than normal, and there was something about wearing dark clothes when you have naturally pale skin that made you stick out more, but that wasn’t the actual problem Tsukishima had with the suit, it was the tie.

Call it what you will, but when you’ve actually only done things a handful of times in your life, that doesn’t exactly qualify you to be an expert in them, and for Tsukishima, tying ties was one of those things. The way he could never get it perfectly straight, as Kuroo walked into the room, almost laughing at his poor attempt, was the most vexatious thing of them all. He even had that look in his eyes that Tsukishima was a toddler who couldn’t tie his own shoes yet, it was almost degrading, and it pissed Tsukishima off. 

Of course, Kuroo being the ‘gentleman’ that he was had to fix it, unlooping Tsukishima’s tie and fixing it properly this time. He even had the audacity, with his face being so close to Tsukishima’s, to kiss him, his fingernails brushing up against Tsukishima’s face. He said ‘it was the perfect opportunity and how could I pass this up?’. Tsukishima of course scowled in response, he really hated this guy. But still, here he was, dressed in a stuffy suit, surrounded by more people in stuffy suits, trying to endure the gossip from everyone as they made their way past the crowds and sat by a nearby windowsill.

“Try to ignore them.” Kuroo smiled, looking over at Tsukishima, the sun was just starting to set and he figured they would be in this place for several more hours, probably until way past nightfall. “They’re always like this. Give a couple of stuffy business men some alcohol and they’ll talk about anything. I swear, sometimes adults are worse than teenagers when it comes to gossip.” Kuroo laughed, throwing one of his hands up in the air and smirking as if he just told a joke. 

Though, Tsukishima was pretty sure he was just trying to ease the tension, most people wouldn’t feel comfortable in a place like this, even if they grew up with this life style. It felt like everyone was judging you, and part of that could be blamed on the alcohol, sure, but that didn’t excuse it or make him feel any better. So how exactly was Tsukishima supposed to act right now? The entire vibe here was a lot different than the small ‘party’ they had with Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa when the two first met. This was serious, more judge-y. And even with Tsukishima’s generally ‘chill’ personality, it was become harder and harder to fight the urge to leave right now. For a brief moment, he wondered what Kuroo would say or do if he just walked out. He would probably mind but would he stop him? Tsukishima groaned as he thought about it, he was going to need some alcohol tonight if he was going to keep up this only slightly pissed off attitude.

As Tsukishima looked around the room, though, calling it a ‘room’ was a bit of an insult, it was more like one of those fancy dining halls, the kind of thing people book for Christmas parties or family reunions. It was about the size of one of the campus buildings at the university, bigger than any other building he had been in, that’s for sure. They stood over on the right side right now (if you were facing the front doors), a massive windowsill overlooking the outside was behind them, you could see the sky grow darker as the lights from the other nearby tall buildings lit up the sky and looked like stars, and the sky almost had a dark purple look to it through the glass. Tsukishima wasn’t completely sure where they were, but Kuroo said this place was in downtown Tokyo, and he had no reason not to believe him.

The whole place had that modern ‘rich’ feel to it, with bland white walls and slightly off gray curtains that you could see through hanging over the windows. There was a thing black spiral staircase on the right side of the room, a few feet in front of and off to the right of them, Kuroo said it led to a ‘lounge area’, with black leather furniture and people drinking upstairs, though, Tsukishima was almost positive it was a place where people took their ‘dates’ to go and do other things. The various sounds of giggles and subtle moans coming from both men and women filled the upstairs and anyone with a brain would be able to guess what they were doing.

Towards the back of the first floor, the floor they were on, there was a banquet style area, with food lining a few tables, it was mostly just salad and pizza, mixed with a handful of exotic appetizers and wines. It was probably one of the widest varieties of food he had seen in a while. Tsukishima couldn’t tell you anything other than that, he thought that they sort of resembled the French food that Kuroo would order for them from time to time, but his knowledge of French cuisine was limited.

“Do you know all the people here?” Tsukishima asked as if he was just making basic conversation. 

Looking around, the only people that he even recognized were Akaashi, Bokuto, and Oikawa. Bokuto was clung onto Akaashi’s arm, holding onto him as he talked to what looked like some men in suits about twenty feet away, probably more people from the company, if he had to guess. Oikawa was eating a salad over by the food area, standing against the back wall over there talking to some other men with whom had too much product in their hair. Kuroo said there would be a few models and others who worked for the company here, so he was guessing that’s who he was with. They each had that ‘pretty boy’ vibe as they smiled and laughed with each other. This would be his first time seeing him since the whole thing with Iwaizumi. Tsukishima sort of wondered how he was even able to pull this off.

“Hm.” Kuroo pondered for a moment. “Most of them, though some of them are associates of my fathers. I’m just here to please the company, if I had my way, I would be home right now with you as we-“

“-Tsukki! You actually came!” It was one of the few times in anyone’s life that they were happy to see and hear Bokuto. He gave a friendly wave as him and Akaashi approached the two of them, both wearing matching suits as Bokuto had a smile on his face, his hair still in that same owl-shape motion, and even Akaashi was sporting a smile as he stood next to his owl boyfriend.

“I didn’t have anything else to do.” Tsukishima scowled, almost sighing as he averted his eyes from all three of them, looking to the floor. He could feel Kuroo’s hand resting on his shoulder, pulling him close and he knew his eyes were locked onto him.

“Modest, are we?” Bokuto laughed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. It felt like the entire building could hear his laughter right now, it made Tsukishima want to distance himself from all three of them right then and there. Why did he have to be so loud?

“So, I take it you two are having a good time?” Kuroo almost laughed, making the basic small talk conversation with his two friends. It was almost refreshing to hear something that wasn’t people gossiping. 

“Yeah, the stuff they have at the bar this year is actually pretty great!” Bokuto boasted, Tsukishima didn’t even notice until now that he had a small drink in his hand, it was half empty and you could smell the stench of it on his breath as he drew his face in closer. Tsukishima thought about asking him what he meant by ‘this year’, but given that Bokuto and Akaashi had been together for over a year by this point, he just assumed this party was an annual thing and he came here last time. Not that he exactly wanted to have conversations with anyone right now. “You guys should have something to drink.” Bokuto added with a burst of excitement in his voice. “Actually no, I’ll go get you some.” Bokuto seemed far too delighted to run off in the direction towards the bar, which was by the banquet area with the food. It was just a small area by one of the tables in there, and Tsukishima didn’t even think anything of it until now. You could see his head bobbing back and forth as he skipped over there cheerfully.

“Sorry, he’s already a bit buzzed. I keep telling him not to drink at these things, but you know how he gets.” Akaashi smiled apologetically, but he somehow had an amused look on his face as he watched Bokuto almost skip merrily off towards the bar. 

“Sounds like you have your hands full already.” Kuroo smirked, and Tsukishima finally brought his eyes forward again. 

“I should go after him before he gets himself too drunk to function, or else he’s going to be a real handful. You know how he gets.” Akaashi sighed as he placed a hand on top of his forehead, he had a tone in his voice that normally signaled that someone was annoyed, but Tsukishima was getting the idea that Akaashi probably didn’t mind. Probably anyone would be grateful to have an excuse to leave a place like this early. And Bokuto was the perfect walking excuse for that. 

And if the time he spent with him was any indication, Bokuto didn’t hold his alcohol well, he figured in another drink or two the owl obsessed man would be clinging to Akaashi and begging to ‘find a room’ somewhere. Not that it was any of his business, but Tsukishima couldn’t help but pick up on things like that after all the time he spent with them recently.

“Have fun.” Kuroo smiled as Akaashi turned around, he paused for a moment, like he was scanning the environment for Bokuto’s spikey head, not that it was that hard to miss. Within a matter of a few seconds he started walking away towards the bar, his head almost instantly getting lost in a sea of other heads as he walked away. 

Tsukishima stayed looking in that direction for a few more minutes, looking over the people’s heads as he thought about what kind of life a person leads to get a job like this. He still knew next to nothing about what Kuroo does for a living, he just knew that occasionally Kuroo would say he had to go in for a meeting once or twice a week, he would leave for a few hours and then come back, or he would say he had a business call to make and he would be done in a few hours, he would step into one of the other rooms and then come out two hours later. He probably figured it was all the same to Tsukishima, but he took notice of it. Tsukishima would usually just do school work or listen to music as he waited, anything to pass the time, sometimes even Yamaguchi would text him. Though, that went about as well as anyone expected, given his best friends lack of knowing what the word ‘chill’ meant. It wouldn’t take long before he would start bombarding him with questions about Kuroo, what they did last night, what Kuroo bought him, he sounded like an excited middle schooler more than a college kid. And it wouldn’t take long after that for Tsukishima to stop replying in general. He wasn’t trying to be rude or anything, and he knew that Yamaguchi meant well, but he didn’t need to be reminded ten times a day that he was living and sleeping with a ‘perfect ten’, as his best friend would say. Seriously, what even makes someone a ten? Why couldn’t his best friend more of an unobtrusive, reserved type?

Tsukishima looked over the heads of the people nearby one more time, before returning to look at Kuroo. All the men were dressed in identical suits with varying types of Rolex watches, probably with diamonds embedded into them, and their shoes looked so clean you would think this was the one and only time they would ever be worn. Upon observation, Tsukishima noticed that there were definitely more men here than women, with the women around wearing almost identical styled black dresses, but with them having varying Prada purses instead of Rolex’s. There were two of them that caught his eye in particular, one with medium length flowing black hair and glasses, the black dress on her made her stick out more than the other women, then again maybe it was just the way it looked on her, not that Tsukishima was in any place to say that he found someone attractive, but even he could tell she was very pretty. 

Next to her was shorter girl with blonde hair, also wearing black, she had a light blue colored star hair clip in her hair, pinning part of her bangs out of her face. Looking at her, Tsukishima figured she had to be a college kid, or someone just fresh out of college. She was shorter and had an overly happy look on her face. It got Tsukishima thinking that maybe she was an intern. Tsukishima thought before looking over at Kuroo. His face was also looking over the heads of people in the crowds, like he was analyzing everyone, trying to see who was here and who wasn’t, that or maybe he was just trying to help keep tabs on Bokuto.

“Do they have intern jobs here?” Tsukishima asked, just making basic conversation again, but he was reminded of some of the things he thought the first week he met Kuroo. Back then he thought this ‘arrangement’ would last a month at most, and in the best case scenario, he would come out of here with a job or something, Kuroo was wealthy and well liked so he had to have some connections. He didn’t mean anything by saying it now, but maybe Kuroo actually could set him up with a job. It would at least be nice to have something like that after he graduates college next year.

Kuroo looked over at Tsukishima and smirked, like he knew what he was thinking. “Actually, we do. Why? Do you want to work for me, Tsukki?” He smiled, though it was more like a provoking grin, as he leaned over closer to the blonde as he turned his face to the side to face him.

“Of course not.” Tsukishima scowled slightly. “I was just asking. You know that I very well can’t live off of fucking you forever. A job would be nice after I graduate.” Tsukishima honestly had no idea what he was going to do with his biology degree, he had always liked history and science from a young age, but right now his future was about unclear as it could be. And not to mention he had changed his major at least three times since he started college.

He didn’t mean to, but when Kuroo spoke he got this image in his head, one of him being Kuroo’s personal assistant, or secretary, or something. The two of them dressed in suits and Kuroo calling him into his office to do ‘favors’ for him. Ugh, just thinking about that right now was enraging. Actually, it wasn’t enraging a all, it was kind of appealing, it made Tsukishima’s entire body turn hot as he thought about it, the thing that was enraging was that his body was having this kind of reaction to it. If something like that were to actually happen, there’s no doubt that Kuroo would continue his passes and come on’s at Tsukishima. Living with him was unbearable enough, but working with him? There was no way in hell that was ever happening.

“Well, we do have plenty of jobs available, and I could pull some strings for you.” Kuroo hummed. Was he actually trying to be nice and helpful for once? “Though, I think it would be far more enjoyable for you to keep living off of me for a while, and not to mention that I wouldn’t mind it.” Kuroo leaned his face in even closer, this time planting his lips on the blondes, like he was waiting for an opportunity where he knew he would be flustered or trying to think up a response. 

The kiss went just as quickly as it came, short, barely noticeable, but yet still just as warm and slightly coated in wine. “So, don’t think about leaving me just yet, Tsukki. won’t you stay with me for a little longer?” He had almost pleasant tone in his voice, like he was asking nicely for something. The way his words lingered in the air struck a chord with Tsukishima. What was he implying exactly? Was this his way of saying he liked Tsukishima being around? He really wished Kuroo could just be straightforward about things for once in his life.

“Thirsty?” As if Tsukishima was cursed (or gifted) with the most perfect timing of the night, he was interrupted before he could say anything, this time by Oikawa. The perfectly quaffed haired man approached them with two drinks in hand, handing them to Kuroo and Tsukishima. He was starting to think that Bokuto was never going to return with those drinks he said he was going to fetch them before. 

Tsukishima almost took it just out of reflex alone, from the glass it was in and the coloring, it looked like more wine. Not that Tsukishima had fully learned how to differ wines apart from each other by this point yet. All he knew was Kuro never paid for the cheap stuff, and whatever he drank was usually imported, whether that be bourbons or wines. Prior to meeting and living with Kuroo, Tsukishima had only ever tasted the cheap beers at college parties, so anything was a nice change of pace from that.

“Always.” Kuroo smirked, and Tsukishima knew exactly what he was implying with that tone in his voice, taking a big gulp as he placed his arm around Tsukishima again. He really wished people would not give Kuroo alcohol, he was so unmanageable when he was drunk, probably similar to how Bokuto was right now. Him and Akaashi were practically in the same boat.

“I meant for the drink, not for your baby.” Oikawa laughed, moving a strand of hair out of his eyes. Like everyone else, Oikawa was also wearing a suit, black, but Tsukishima was pretty sure on him that the watch on his wrist was implanted with more diamonds in the center than everyone else’s. “Anyways, you two seemed lonely, so I thought I would come over here. Though, it was pretty impossible to get away from the other models. Suga always needs to drink with a group of people at these sort of events.” He gestured several feet behind him to the other side of the room, where several models stood, one of them in the middle with silver hair seemed more drunk than the rest, that must have been the ‘Suga’ he was just talking about. Tsukishima didn’t ask, but he assumed all the models just hung out together at these sorts of events. Honestly, Tsukishima thought about going over with Bokuto, maybe it would be better for the ‘baby’s’ to hang out together too, they were sort of in the same boat after all. But he mentally cancelled that idea as soon as he saw how drunk he was.

“How thoughtful of you.” Kuroo smiled, taking another gulp of the wine. Tsukishima was amazed that he was even able to talk straight with what had to be at least half a bottle of wine in his belly right now. “New watch?” He added. Both of them looking down at the diamond implanted watch around Oikawa’s wrist.

“Do you like it? It was a gift from Iwa-chan. We were out shopping yesterday, he saw it and said that he just had to buy it for me.” He boasted, his face seemed to light up with a smile. It almost seemed like the ‘relationship’ Oikawa had with Iwaizumi was a lot different than the one Tsukishima had with Kuroo, that, or they just showed their affection to each other in different ways. Wait, affection? In what way did Tsukishima show or even have any affection towards Kuroo at all?

“So, I trust things are going well between the two of you, then?”

“It’s going better than well.” Oikawa sang out, and his face seemed to light up as he continued to talk. “Though, I do feel a bit guilty for being here. Iwa-chan wanted me to come to one of his games tonight, but I had to make up some excuse and say that I had a night lab tonight. Being a model sure is hard.” He sounded like he was being over dramatic, the way he had a fake tone in his voice, like he said he was exhausted even though he hadn’t actually done anything yet. Tsukishima thought about being helpful and telling him the schedule of the night labs, but decided he couldn’t be assed to opened his mouth right now as he took another sip from the drink in his hand.

“Tell me about it. If only we could have invited him here. I know we’ve been trying to find a way to include sports into our advertising for some time now.”

“If he was here tonight I wouldn’t even be ‘here’, I would be his plus one.” Oikawa laughed, as if he would be able to pull something like that off. 

“Just imagine if you got to model with him. I can see it now, Iwaizumi in his sports jersey, and you next to him holding a basketball, in a skimpier jersey of course.” It was obvious that Kuroo was egging him on, provoking him like he always did, with a smirk on his face like he was giving Oikawa some kind of sexual fantasy. Tsukishima did his best not to cringe at the thought of something like that.

“Please stop teasing me, Tetsu-chan, you know that I am a weak man.” 

“Especially weak for Iwa-chan.” Kuroo added, like it was a friendly jab.

The two of them were laughing and Tsukishima felt slightly awkward, there was no tension in the room around them, if anything, the atmosphere was pretty easy going and calm with Oikawa and Kuroo teasing each other. He thought that maybe he should add to the conversation instead of just standing there, but what should he say? It wasn’t like he knew Kuroo or Oikawa very well, even though he had been living with Kuroo, he probably couldn’t name a thing that Kuroo liked, and he could say the same for Oikawa. Outside of the few favors they did for him before he started ‘going out’ with Iwaizumi, all Tsukishima knew about him was that he was a model, and quite a pretty one at that.

“How are things going, by the way? He still doesn’t know you’re a model?” It was all Tsukishima could say, that or just stand there and continuing to down the wine in his glass until the alcohol in his system blocked out every other conscious thing around him. Was that rude? Not that Tsukishima was normally one to care for hurting other people’s feelings, but he remembered the day he first met Oikawa that he said something sort of depressing to him, and he didn’t want him to think that he was always down in the dumps.

“Always the realistic and depressing one, eh Tsukki?” Kuroo lightly punched his shoulder as he finished up the drink in his hand, and Tsukishima knew he needed to down his quick to prevent Kuroo from drinking his too, the last thing anyone wanted right now was a drunk Kuroo unable to control himself about anything.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Iwa-chan is actually pretty dense and doesn’t suspect a thing, but I’ll probably have to tell him soon. I may be a model, but even keeping up a lie like this is hard. I had to turn down three modeling jobs this week alone, and one of them was for Aliens Republic, and you know how much I love their stuff?” Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms and sticking his bottom lip out. The term ‘childish’ came to mind as Tsukishima watched him, but he thought that was probably just all the wine he had been drinking. Oikawa seemed like the type of person who knew when to be mature.

In a weird way, you kind of did feel for the guy, Tsukishima never did consider himself to like or be ‘in love’ with anyone, so he had little to no experience with this sort of thing, but the way Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi made him seem way more than desperate. It made Tsukishima almost wonder what someone would do if they were that desperate. It was so weird now that in a way Tsukishima was now involved with Kuroo’s friends, like they made themselves Tsukishima’s friends too, forcing their way into his life, and now involving him in a weird assortment of lies, making him almost care about what happened to these people. He thought to himself that something must be seriously wrong with his brain to be thinking and feeling things like this. A few months ago, Tsukishima would’ve cared less, even if it was Yamaguchi who got himself into some lies, he wouldn’t care. So why did he feel some weird sort of compassion for Oikawa and Kuroo in a time like this?

“But anyway.” Oikawa continued, as if he was the one who was steering this conversation, well, the conversation was all about him and Iwaizumi after all. “So, what’s up with you two, getting hitched yet?” Oikawa took a sip of the drink he had in his hand, as Tsukishima forced himself to take a gulp of his own, maybe it was just the strange atmosphere here, but he didn’t feel like drinking tonight. Kuroo was getting tipsier by the minute, and the last thing he wanted was for a drunk Kuroo to convince a drunk Tsukishima to do whatever he wants.

“Don’t make jokes like that.” Tsukishima had to fight the urge to spit his drink out right then and there. Who says things like ‘hitched’ in these days? And more so, why did Kuroo seem all too pleased just to laugh it off like it was some joke?

“Now, now, it was just a joke.” Oikawa laughed with a calming tone in his voice, like he was afraid Tsukishima would give him a death glare if he didn’t say that. 

Whenever Tsukishima was around Kuroo’s friends, he couldn’t help but feel like there was some ulterior motive happening, like whenever Bokuto was around he would say things like ‘are you two going to be like me and Akaashi?’, and now it seemed like that attitude had spread to Oikawa. What were they doing, some sort of weird match making service? Kuroo and Tsukishima were in an arrangement, sex for money, a place to stay, and food. Tsukishima only came here tonight because he was free and mildly curious what Kuroo’s job actually was. (Not that he got an answer to that by coming here.) There was nothing more to their relationship than that.

“Anyway. I should thank you guys properly for what you did when I first met Iwa-chan. I raided your wardrobe and even made you tag along to the onsen and everything.” Oikawa spoke again, this time it was just nervous laughter as he emptied his drink. “When all this is over, let’s go grab some drinks sometime.”

“Oikawa!” An unfamiliar voice called over by the bar, it sounded more like ‘Oy-Kaw’ than ‘Oikawa’, but that was probably due to just the drunken slurs, the voice had a pleasant sound to it, though.

When Tsukishima looked over at the guy calling Oikawa’s name, he recognized him as the silver haired guy they were talking about earlier. What was his name again? Suga? Though, Tsukishima thought this would be the one and only time he’d be seeing him, so he guessed that it didn’t matter what his name was.

“And speaking of drinks, Suga wants me to join him again, see you later.” Oikawa waved off in a friendly motion, he had a skip in his step as he happily bounced off in the direction of the bar, not quite the same as Bokuto’s, but close.

Tsukishima brought his eyes back over to Kuroo, he was eyeing him with that same provoking look in his eyes, and Tsukishima thought if he had any questions to ask Kuroo, now would be the right time, because in about twenty or thirty minutes from now Kuroo would probably be too drunk to, as Akaashi said earlier, ‘too drunk to function’. What did Tsukishima want to ask him anyway? It wasn’t like he cared that much about Kuroo’s job, he was a business man that seemed to have something to do with advertising, and that was more knowledge that Tsukishima had about him than he did on the day he first met. And it wasn’t like Tsukishima cared about the relationships Kuroo had with anybody else here tonight, outside of Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa, he hadn’t even seen him socialize with anyone else tonight. Though, Kuroo did stress that he didn’t want to be here tonight, so he probably didn’t plan to socialize with anyone else.

“Do you have these parties often?” And there was his mouth again, asking questions before his brain even got a chance to speak. There wasn’t any music playing here, which made it a lot easier to still hear the ongoing gossip from the people that would walk past them, but maybe he would get lucky and the alcohol in Kuroo’s system would block out everything that wasn’t physical.

“Usually only on major holidays, New Years, father’s birthday, and in the summer. Enjoying yourself that much?” He smirked, amused, clearly, he was still sober enough to know what was happening around him. 

“Not really.” Tsukishima shrugged, he thought about asking Kuroo where his father is, he had said before that he was only here to ‘please the company on his father’s behalf’, but he opted not to. They might not be the closest family, on top of other reasons as well.

Usually by the time people get to be around twenty-three and get into their mid-twenties, they stop seeing their family as much and start living their own lives. Plus, Tsukishima wasn’t entirely sure Kuroo’s father would be pleased if he knew his son was in the ‘sugar daddy’ business. He said before that Kuroo’s family grew up much differently than Tsukishima’s, but the concept of a sugar daddy and a sugar baby was probably still a foreign thing to most people. Also, doing something like that would be the equivalent of the ‘meeting the parents’ thing most relationships go through. Him and Kuroo weren’t in a ‘relationship’ anyways, so why should he care who his father is?

“Does everyone at these parties always wear suits?” There he goes again, asking more questions that he didn’t want and didn’t need to ask. Though, in the back of his mind he did think it would be nice to see Kuroo in some casual clothes for once, like some baggy gray sweatpants and a black tank top. Wait, why was he imaging Kuroo wearing casual clothes right now? And why was the thought of that almost arousing in his head? It had to be the alcohol.

“Most of the time.” He hummed, looking straight as he looked at the crowds of people coming and going. Tsukishima didn’t notice it, but the amount of people had really thinned out in the past few minutes. Well, it was after midnight now after all. “You know how people like to keep up the ‘rich person’ aesthetic.” 

“I don’t, but okay.” When Kuroo mentioned ‘aesthetic’, all Tsukishima could picture in his mind was a bunch of rich college kids with too much money wearing diamonds and showing off their designer watches and handbags. Then again, maybe that was exactly what Kuroo wanted him to picture. From the looks of it, that wasn’t too far off from the people here. The oldest person here looked like they were in their early thirties, and all with that ‘rich, diamond aesthetic’. He figured that everyone here probably grew up with a similar sort of life style that Kuroo did.

Tsukishima paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he should say next, if he should say anything else at all. Now that the crowds had thinned down, he was able to spot people much more clearly. He could see Oikawa over at the bar, surrounded by the man named ‘Suga’, and a group of other people, who he assumed were models. They all sort of had that ‘pretty boy’ feel to them. They were probably similar to Oikawa in the sense that they all got through life mostly on their looks alone. What was that saying? The beautiful people flock to where the other beautiful people are? It was like that.

On the other side of the room, the wall opposite them, there was an identical windowsill, one where Bokuto and Akaashi were leaning up against the wall in a similar manner. Bokuto looked beyond drunk as he leaned into Akaashi, pressing kisses on his neck as he clung to them. And Akaashi had a smile on his face that almost made him look happy. Tsukishima forced himself to look away, out of fear they would see him and notice that he was staring. Apparently, while he was looking elsewhere, a waiter walked by, one of those ones that you see in movies all the time at parties, the ones that just carry around a tray, either of drinks or small food dishes, and Kuroo filled up again on alcohol. You could smell it on his breath, and his eyes were already half lidded, it was like he was telling Tsukishima ‘I want to make out with you right now’, and the way he opened his mouth and moved closer only solidified that.

“Tsukki, come here.” Kuroo leaned forward, placing one hand on Tsukishima’s wrist, and the other on his face. Tsukishima was caught off guard by the sudden added pressure and heat to his body.

He brought himself closer, his lips slowly parting as they pressed against Tsukishima’s. The kiss was sloppier than it normally was, wet from the alcohol, it almost felt like Kuroo struggled to make contact with Tsukishima’s lips. A lot like Bokuto was doing on the other side of the room, Kuroo leaned his head down and started kissing the tender skin on Tsukishima’s neck. It was almost alarming, sure, most people here were beyond drunk at this point, but Tsukishima wasn’t really the type of person who was into PDA. If Kuroo was going to kiss him all of a sudden like this, he would rather it be in the comfort of the penthouse. Of course, his body didn’t agree with his thoughts, and he could feel his temperature start to rise once again as Kuroo touched him.

“Kuroo, you’re drunk.” Tsukishima placed his hands on Kuroo’s shoulders, as if he was trying to stable himself as Kuroo wrapped his hands around the blondes back. He could feel Kuroo’s teeth gently bite down on his neck as he struggled to keep any moans that might escape his lips to himself.

“I’m not drunk.” He totally was, his words were even slurred and everything. “I just really want to kiss you right now, Tsukki.”

“Then can’t you kiss me when we get back to the penthouse?” Tsukishima looked at Kuroo as if he were crazy, feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment as he tried to push the man off of him, to no avail of course. Tsukishima thought right now that Kuroo was an idiot, a complete moron, and for what it’s worth, maybe he was right.

Kuroo brought his head up, locking eyes with Tsukishima as he planted another soft kiss on his lips. He had a look of consummation on his face as he spoke. “I’m happy, Tsukki.”

 

“Kuroo, come on, you’re too heavy.” Tsukishima scowled as he tugged on the broader man’s arm, who of course drank too much, and was now a slurring and babbling mess who couldn’t talk or walk straight by this point, forcing Tsukishima to act as his support, propping him up as Kuroo stumbled down the sidewalk outside of the building, with Tsukishima in tow.

They say there’s a first time for everything, but for Tsukishima, he was starting to think there were some first times you could live without, case in point, escorting a drunk Kuroo back to the penthouse.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was sure that Akaashi was busy with an already drunk Bokuto, Tsukishima would have asked them for help, Bokuto looked strong, there was no way he couldn’t carry Kuroo, it would have been the perfect solution, but as Tsukishima had learned multiple times by this point, nothing really does work out like you planned it would. And now he was left with a drunken man that he sort of knew, with his arm wrapped comfortably around his shoulder as Kuroo continuously kept planting sloppy kisses along his face and neck. His breath reeked and Tsukishima thought he would pass out from the smell alone. How did someone get this drunk? Kuroo stayed beside him the entire night, he only three glasses of wine at most. But one minute Kuroo was drinking, happily talking to Tsukishima and Oikawa, the next he was kissing Tsukishima, telling him that he wanted to kiss him, and the next he was falling over, practically demanding that they go home right now, Kuroo of course slurring something that sounded like a come on that he wanted to have sex right now, but Tsukishima ignored it, pretending that he couldn’t tell what he was saying. Why was he so unmanageable like this?

Fortunately, Tsukishima made the conscious choice between them, being the one that was the most sober (he only had half a glass of wine), that he shouldn’t let Kuroo drive. He intended to walk them to the station, from there he planned they could get a ride home from a train or something, and then just come back the next day to get his car, but that failed instantly because nothing is opened past two in the morning, outside of a few convenience stores.

Tsukishima thought about driving himself, just taking Kuroo’s keys, tossing him in the back seat (and by ‘toss’, he meant try to get him to enter the car at all), and go home that way. He wasn’t too overly confident in his driving abilities, since he mostly survived by just taking the trains his whole life, but the thing he feared the most in the back of his mind was being in a car alone with Kuroo right now. He could already picture it, Tsukishima would be driving and Kuroo would sneak his way up to the front of the car, he would slur something that sounded half coherent as he used his best drunken attempt to seduce the blonde, he would probably start kissing him and wrap his arms around him, touching a few of Kuroo’s favorite places to touch on the blonde’s body, and that would be the end of Tsukishima. He’d either die from a crash or from Kuroo, he’d probably end up giving in and doing it in the back seat with him. Then again, maybe that was the better option, if Kuroo got what he wanted, maybe he would pass out and make it easier for Tsukishima to take him home. Out of all the people who had to see his application, it had to be the guy who was a raging pervert and a terrible drunk. Go figure.

“Kuroo, give me your phone, I’ll call us an Uber.” Tsukishima muttered, not even sure if Kuroo knew what he was saying. But the way he looked at it, that was probably their best and only option if they wanted to get home before the sun came up and in one piece.

“No, I can drive!” His words slurred as he wrapped his arms around Tsukishima’s back, holding him as he laid his head on Tsukishima’s chest, almost pushing the poor guy over under his body weight. He was like a needy kitten right now, and yet, somehow still very warm, Tsukishima couldn’t help but smile down on him, doing his best to make sure Kuroo couldn’t see that smile, of course.

“You can’t drive. You’ll kill us both if you touch the wheel.” Since when did Tsukishima care or sound so responsible? Well, Yamaguchi always did say that Tsukishima would be his ‘sober friend’ to drive him home from clubs when he got drunk, so it sort of made since, and when it came down to it, if someone could prevent their own death, especially if they were under thirty, they probably would. “Now give me your phone.” He insisted as he held out his hand, he could already feel his patience dwindling down, and he was now regretting leaving his phone back at the penthouse tonight. He always hated having his phone with him when he was drinking, the idea of a drunken Tsukishima having access to text anyone, or post anything when he was in that state freaked him out mentally too much.

“Come and get it, Tsukki.” Even when he was beyond drunk, Kuroo’s words still had a provoking ring to them, as Tsukishima returned his focus onto the bedhead. 

It was almost like drunk Kuroo realized that was his opportunity to make a move. He took his hands off of Tsukishima, turning around and propping himself up on a nearby bench on the sidewalk. Tsukishima could clearly see what he was playing at, and clearly what was in the back pocket of the pants on his suit, his phone. Tsukishima was one-hundred percent done with today, there was no way in hell that he was touching drunk Kuroo’s ass right now. He thought about asking if Kuroo was a child, but given that he was drunk, he was pretty sure he knew the answer he would get. Ugh, why was Tsukishima cursed like this?

Kuroo turned his head to the side, looking back at Tsukishima as if he was waiting for him to do something. He gave him that smirking, provoking look that he was so used to, as if he was saying ‘well?’. Tsukishima really wanted to walk away right then and there, but couldn’t bring himself to do so, maybe just because he didn’t want Kuroo to wake up in an alleyway in the morning.

“Oh, for the love of – Kuroo- fine!” Tsukishima couldn’t even fathom words right now, and he sounded just as much of a babbling mess as Kuroo was as he placed his hand on top of his head like he had a headache, he swiftly reached his hand into Kuroo’s back pocket and pulled out his phone, doing his best to try to make as little contact with him as possible right now.

“Aw!” Kuroo whined as Tsukishima opened up Kuroo’s phone, grabbing his hand and using Kuroo’s thumb to unlock it. “You missed a perfect opportunity there, Tsukki.” He turned around to face the blonde with a look of almost disappointment on his face, like he was expecting a sober Tsukishima to make a move on him. Clearly, drunk Kuroo had no rational thoughts at all.

“Whatever.” Tsukishima sighed, maybe next time he would have to take a rain check on going to any kind of party outside of the house with Kuroo. “We’re going home, you’re going to bed, and I’m going to make me some hot tea to get rid of this headache.” His voice was annoyed as usual as Tsukishima struggled to fight off the headache that was coming on. Why did Kuroo do this to him? This was one of those times when Tsukishima couldn’t stand him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to leave him alone.

“Tsukki, can I tell you a secret?” Kuroo sat down on the bench on the sidewalk as Tsukishima fiddled with Kuroo’s phone to call an Uber to them. Kuroo wasn’t exactly the most savvy when it came to technology, his phone was unorganized and had his apps all over the place, Tsukishima had to scroll through three useless pages of editing apps for snapchat and Instagram before he even found Uber. He really just wanted to go home.

It didn’t take long after the silence around them for Kuroo to reach around and pull Tsukishima onto his lap from behind, probably only seconds. 

Tsukishima was caught off guard as he felt Kuroo nuzzle his face into his neck and collar bone. And he almost dropped the phone as he felt Kuroo run his hands over his body. He started off just running them over his stomach and chest through the white shirt on his suit, his nails tickling his skin as they felt hot to the touch, but it didn’t take long for his hands to quickly venture south as he placed more warm kisses on his neck, slightly nipping at the skin. Fuck!

“You’re probably going to tell me anyway.” Tsukishima tried to keep his voice low and sounding as disinterested as possible, but his body did always give out pretty quickly and show such embarrassed reactions whenever Kuroo touched him like this, and he could easily hear the own shakiness in his voice as he struggled to keep the phone steadily in his hands. “And where are you touching, exactly?”

Tsukishima turned his head to the side, to scowl at Kuroo some more, but his thought was interrupted when his lips were met with a familiarity, a sloppy and forceful kiss that even he found himself enjoying. It was a teaser, like Kuroo’s way of saying he could give Tsukishima more when they get back home. Though at this rate, they probably wouldn’t get back home at all if Kuroo didn’t let him actually call for a ride. And the way that Kuroo began rubbing him through the pants on his suit made him want to smack him and kiss him at the same time.

“My little Tsukki feels so pent up right now, have I been neglecting you that badly?” Kuroo cooed and Tsukishima felt a shiver run down his spine as he tried to control his legs from starting to shake.

“Stop that, you’re drunk, and I don’t know that you’re-“ 

“Guess what?” Kuroo muttered again, instantly taking control of the conversation and changing the subject, planting a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s lips before he got the chance to say ‘what?’, though, he was pretty sure the look he was giving Kuroo right now told him that’s what he was going to say. 

The next words Kuroo spoke ended up not being so slurred, and Tsukishima was surprisingly able to understand them clear as day, but once the words registered in his mind, he wished that he couldn’t understand him at all. It was like when they ran into his brother the other day, but only it felt ten times worse as Tsukishima processed what he said, and bewilderment took over his face as he widened his eyes as he listened to the sound of Kuroo’s voice.

“Tsukki, I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually able to get this chapter out in a decent time this time, haha. That will probably be really rare. Anyway, this chapter was actually really fun to write, and I know, another cliff hanger, i'm terrible, I'm sorry. Next chapter we will be back to Oikawa and Iwaizumi's side of things and get to see how Oikawa's doing with that.


	10. Sometimes A Liar Can Help Solve A Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the midst of Oikawa's lies, Iwaizumi decides to drop him off at the university he told him he was attending, where he runs into and has lunch with Tsukishima, and the two of them try to solve each others problems. Later, Iwaizumi invites Oikawa to attend a sports banquet with him.

Once again Oikawa Tooru found himself in a situation that he would have not liked to have been in. Seriously, how did these things keep happening to him? One minute he was sitting in the comfort of Kuroo’s couch in his penthouse, drooling over an unattainable athlete, the next he was posing as an innocent college student just to go on a date with said unattainable athlete, and now he was here, at an actual college, sitting at a small lunch table, with someone that it could be considered he hardly knew. Seriously, what had become of his life recently?

He knew that lying to Iwaizumi was going to be tough, tougher than tough. He had to make up excuses as to why he couldn’t go to games that Iwaizumi invited him too, that he also really wanted him to go to, just so he could go to modeling shoots. He had to disappear for several hours during the weekdays on end just to make it look like he was actually ‘going to college’. (Though that did make it slightly easier to schedule modeling shoots.) And sometimes he even found himself struggling to get all of his makeup off when he would return to Iwaizumi’s place in the evening. When he originally came up with this plan he thought it would be fool proof, but he was soon realizing it was getting harder and harder to keep up with this life style. 

Living with him was another story, though. The sex was great, don’t get him wrong, and he was definitely what most people would consider ‘head over heels’ for Iwaizumi, but he couldn’t help the uneasy feeling of dread and panic that would surface in him whenever Iwaizumi would ask him a question. Seriously, why did he have to first person ever to actually show some interest in Oikawa’s life? He knew he would have to tell him one day, he just wasn’t counting on Iwaizumi being the epitome of his dreams. Fuck, what had he gotten himself into?

“So how did you get here exactly? I don’t really care either way, but normally they just wouldn’t let anyone wander about the school?” Tsukishima had that same bland and disinterested tone in his voice that he had always heard from the blonde, and Oikawa was starting to think that was the only tone that he could muster at all in any social situations. Though he really couldn’t fault him on that.

Oikawa wasn’t even sure how he pulled this one off, but this morning when he woke up next to Iwaizumi and his adorable sleeping face, he let it slide that he had a ‘afternoon class’ today, mainly just him trying to play the part of the college kid that he was trying to pull off, and before he knew it, Iwaizumi insisted on driving him to the university today. Damn his mouth. This is what he gets for trying to do something like this in the first place, but you couldn’t blame the guy for trying to play the part. The way he looked at it, Iwaizumi would probably figure him out if he didn’t at least mention school, and Oikawa was still trying to plan out the perfect mental schedule in his head. He was just fortunate that Tsukishima had classes today too, at least he could use this as some sort of scape goat when all of this hit the fan. He felt terrible for using Tsukishima again though, him and Kuroo had helped him out enough in this whole situation already. Ugh, he felt so shameful right now as his mind refused to look at Tsukishima, or his freckle faced friend in the eyes. At least it was lunch time.

“I flirted with the student working at the front desk, told her I was looking into going to school here, and she just let me through.” Oikawa put in a fake flirty tone in his voice, that wasn’t the first time he had to flirt to get his way, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. Flirting just sort of came with the territory when it comes to being a model.

Originally, Oikawa didn’t even know what to do with coming here, a public university was a lot different than the private school life he surrounded himself with while growing up. This place had no less than four buildings and a less than helpful directory in the parking lot. He just entered the first building he came across, not wanting to alarm Iwaizumi since he knew he was probably still watching him from the parking lot. Fortunately, that building happened to be the student center, with a surprisingly helpful girl with short red hair to answer all of his questions.

He thought that maybe he would get lucky and Tsukishima would have a problem that would distract him from his own. Not that the blonde looked like he was the type who would open up about that sort of thing unless someone seriously pried and asked, but he could tell from the small glance on his face that something was on his mind.

“Seriously? Well, I guess everyone is pretty lax here.” Tsukishima sighed, looking down at his plate of pizza that sat in front of him. He had a glass of water that sat with him, and he stirred the straw in it with his finger as he spoke slowly.

Oikawa noted how empty the school’s cafeteria was right now, it was like there was no one else here besides the three of them. Oikawa thought this is what it was like to go to a public university. Of course, he didn’t have the luxury of going to public schools like this growing up, when you come from wealth, more often than not you just have private tutors and go to private schools, which is exactly what Oikawa did in high school, and unless there is something specific that you want to do, college is completely out of the question for the most of them. When he was around eighteen, Oikawa would rather have gone to parties than study, so it’s no wonder that he never ended up in a place like this. 

But still, he couldn’t quite get over the almost cozy feel of being snug in one of these plastic cafeteria chairs, the way the small groups of people would walk in, wait in line to get their food and then sit down, laughing and talking about who knows what. Sure, you could say that he got to experience something like this in high school, but it was different. The things you do and things you feel are a lot different when you’re sixteen than they are when you’re twenty. Then again what was that saying? The grass is always greener on the other side. It could possibly be that Oikawa was only intrigued by this because he had never experienced something like this before, and from the looks on Tsukishima’s and his friends faces, this was nothing special. 

Oikawa didn’t even know what to do when he first got into the cafeteria, it was like an array of burgers, salads, pizza, and junk food all neatly organized in smaller sections. He couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and not know what to do with this many options. If it wasn’t for Tsukishima’s freckled friend, who was courteous enough to help him find something to eat, Oikawa might have just left right then and there. In the end, he settled for some pizza. That seemed to be a popular choice among most of the people here. Being a model he didn’t really get the chance to eat luxury foods like this very often, he always had a certain diet he needed to keep up with, but since he had been booking less and less shoots lately, this seemed like the perfect time to indulge. Though the taste of it was flat and mediocre at best.

Honestly, Oikawa was even lucky he found Tsukishima, not even five minutes after he got here, Tsukishima and his friend were walking down the sidewalk on their way to lunch, and Oikawa ran after them right after flirting with the girl in the one student building, begging to join them as he killed some time. Tsukishima did look slightly annoyed about it, but he was starting to think that that was just his normal face, that he just looked pissed off when he normally wasn’t. Not that he really could blame the guy for being pissed off, living with Kuroo for a few months on end like this would probably push anyone to their limits.

“I’m Yamaguchi, by the way.” The freckle faced boy sitting next to Tsukishima spoke up, Oikawa was surprised that he had somewhat of a pleasant voice as he smiled at him. Oikawa gave a friendly nod as the boy continued. “Are you a friend of Kuroo’s?”

“You know Kuroo?” Oikawa was almost surprised. He guessed that these two were friends, Tsukishima didn’t seem like the type of person who would walk to lunch with someone that he didn’t know. Though, he seemed surprised at all that Yamaguchi knew Kuroo, he pegged Tsukishima as the type of person who normally wouldn’t speak a word about his private life unless someone pried it out of him. Who knows? Maybe Tsukishima was full of surprises.

“Mhm.” Yamaguchi shook his head up and down, like he was nodding in agreement. You could see the few tufts of hair sticking out of his head moving back and forth as he did so, it was almost amusing. “I met him once a few weeks ago.”

“Is that so? Kuroo and I go way back.” The term ‘way back’ probably implied something much greater than he intended. When it came down to it, Akaashi was probably more suited of the title of ‘best friend’ than Oikawa was, or maybe Bokuto given how those two were so much alike, he had only known Kuroo for a few years, and the extent of their relationship was former ‘fuck buddies’ who knew everything about each others personalities, and occasionally worked together. Hence why Oikawa knew already that Kuroo was in love with Tsukishima, but he decided it was better to keep that one to himself for the moment. When it came down to it, Oikawa probably couldn’t name very many things that the bedhead liked, well, outside of Tsukishima that is. Did he really have a right to even call him a friend? I guess he did.

“Does that mean you’re a sugar daddy too?” Yamaguchi had a delighted expression on his face, one that screamed something of innocence. Oikawa was guessing that he had nothing to do with the kind of life style Tsukishima was in right now, he was just the typical college best friend. It was kind of strange though, from what he could see, Yamaguchi’s personality did differ quite from Tsukishima’s. That got him thinking that maybe there was an actual reason behind their friendship, or maybe Tsukishima was just attracted to people who were the opposite of him. Though him and Kuroo were actually quite similar.

As if it was a scene straight out of a movie, Tsukishima starting coughing, chocking on the glass of water he was drinking. “Yamaguchi! Don’t just ask stuff like that to someone you just met! Someone could hear you.”

“Right, sorry, Tsukki. But he’s not a student and said that he’s a friend of Kuroo’s, so I was just wondering.” You could tell that Tsukishima was very apprehensive about the term ‘sugar daddy’, like it was some secret swear word that he didn’t want his parents, or anyone else to know that he really said. His face got all red and it was almost cute, not cute like when you would think of a boyfriend or girlfriend, more like a basket of new born puppies or kittens cute. For a moment, Oikawa thought if only Kuroo could see how flustered his baby is right now at just the mere mention of his name but, he was pretty sure Kuroo was already aware of that.

Oikawa wasn’t sure what came over him, maybe it was just the college atmosphere, but he felt like being open and talking, Yamaguchi did seem rather curious about him, and this might have been the perfect opportunity to distract Tsukishima as his freckled friend lightly patted him on the back, right before muttering a ‘Tsukki, are you okay?’ after the coughing incident from only a few seconds ago. Honestly, he seemed more like a mother than a friend. It was almost refreshing.

“Actually, I’m a model.” Oikawa smiled, working his charms that he had already used once today, on Yamaguchi. “But right now, I’m a sugar baby for someone. I know, it’s a long story.” Oikawa was used to that look on Yamaguchi’s face, it was a look just about everyone had given him when he told them about him and Iwaizumi, it was the confused, borderline ‘are you crazy’ look. And when it came down to it, even he knew that he was probably crazy, but that wasn’t what mattered right now. He was pretty much in love and needed to break the ice easily, that or forget the problem even existed in the first place. And he knew it was only a matter of time before Iwaizumi started asking him more personal questions, things like what his major is and what he wants to do when he’s done with school. Oikawa relied on his looks his whole life, how was he even supposed to answer that? Seriously, why did he have to fall in love with the one guy who actually seemed to have an interest in him?

“Does he think you’re in school right now? Or are you here to ask for another favor?” Tsukishima asked in a bland tone as he shoved his pizza into the middle of the round table they were sitting at. He had a look on his face that said he wasn’t hungry. He noticed that him on the day they first met too, and that night at the onsen. Apparently, he never did have much of an appetite.

“Both. Though, is it that obvious?” Oikawa was impressed by Tsukishima’s ability to know how to read people, it was like he already had his personality pegged upon meeting him. He thought that it must be difficult to even deal with Kuroo considering how wishy-washy he is sometimes, Tsukishima would probably have the worst time reading him.

“Well, it was either that or you were here to get some modeling inspiration.” Oikawa couldn’t tell if that was meant to be a joke or a serious statement, and by the look on his face, neither could Yamaguchi, as they both sat there, blinking their eyes at him. Was Tsukishima actually making a joke? Something like that really didn’t suit him at all. Then again, maybe he had just been hanging around Bokuto too much.

This wasn’t working out like he thought it would, from the moment he saw the tall blonde today he knew something was on his mind, probably something that involved a tall, dark haired bedhead who was also a sugar daddy. The business party they went to was only three days ago, and even though Oikawa was still trying to get over his hangover from that night, he remembered very vividly that Akaashi texted him, telling him about a confession Kuroo made that night. The only downside was that Oikawa was slightly paranoid about Iwaizumi noticing his text messages to Kuroo and everyone else in their circle of friends, that he deleted them before he had the chance to fully understand what they were even talking about. Ugh, he couldn’t live like this anymore, he needed to tell Iwaizumi, every day was getting more and more unbearable for him.

“So, do you want to tell me what happened between you and Kuroo the other night at the party?” But of course, instead of Oikawa being upfront about his feelings, he evaded everything, and he evaded so much that he began asking Tsukishima about his personal life as if it were a desperate plea to distract him. Seriously, why did his brain have to be like this? He knew asking a question like that would piss Tsukishima off, he definitely didn’t look like the type of guy who liked to talk about his feelings, and here Oikawa was, probably saying something that Tsukishima wanted to forget all about. Whoops. Hopefully several weeks from now, when his head is more clear and he has the courage to finally tell Iwaizumi, Tsukishima can forgive him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tsukishima took another sip of the water in his glass, you could tell from the way he averted his eyes from Oikawa and looked down on the table that he was lying. He could always tell when someone was lying, kind of ironic now. “And plus, weren’t you too drunk to remember that night, anyways?”

“That was just with Suga, he gets so unruly when his boy toy, Daichi, isn’t there to drink with him, but it was just with the models, so it didn’t really matter.” Oikawa had been to so many of those business style parties that he had become the master of holding down his own alcohol, it was like he was still sober and could remember everything even after downing more than five shots, it was a skill, really. “But Akaashi told me everything. Apparently, when you and Kuroo were going home, when he pulled you onto his lap, you hit a button on his phone that accidentally called him, he heard the whole thing.” Oikawa almost felt mean right now, he didn’t mean to be, it was like his mouth just started moving on its own again, doing anything and everything to avoid talking anymore about himself, even if that meant almost putting Tsukishima on the spot like this and giving him an intervention. He really would have to take him out drinking as an apology after this.

Tsukishima scoffed, clicking his tongue, as Oikawa suspected he would. It was like he just told him that the whole world knew his deepest, darkest secret. Though, he was pretty sure Tsukishima would only care about the people close to him knowing his deepest, darkest secret. He almost envied him for not caring about his appearance the way Oikawa did about himself. Then again, Oikawa was a model so he just sort of had to care about his appearance by this point, but still.

“What happened? You two went to a party with Kuroo? I want to go.” Yamaguchi was almost boasting with excitement as his face lit up with a smile as he practically slammed his fists on the table. Looking at him, he really was the odd one out here, he knew next to nothing about what they were talking about, and Oikawa almost felt bad for him. Tsukishima was the kind to keep to himself, even around his friends.

“It wasn’t anything special.” Oikawa waved his hand in the air, as if he was trying to dismiss something. “It was just a business party. Tsukki was there as Kuroo’s plus one and I was there because I’ve worked for the company before as a model.”

“It was pretty boring, you wouldn’t have liked it.” Tsukishima chimed in, almost making that bright smile on Yamaguchi’s face turn into a subtle frown. Though he wasn’t entirely wrong, the party was just a drunk fest with a bunch of men in stuffy business suits, a college kid like Yamaguchi probably wouldn’t have enjoyed. Hell, he was certain Tsukishima didn’t even enjoy it, well, most of it anyway.

“But what did he say? Tsukki, did he tell you that he likes you again? I keep telling you that you need to be more open around him-“

“-It wasn’t anything like that.” Tsukishima cut him off, and Oikawa was getting the sense that Yamaguchi knew every detail about Kuroo and Tsukishima’s relationship. It was almost kind of cute, like he was an internet fangirl freaking over their ‘OTP’ or whatever it’s called. “He just told me that he loves me, but he was drunk so I don’t think it actually means anything.” That was the thing, the thing that Akaashi told him that he already forgot. Love. 

It came as no surprise to Oikawa, it was something that he could relate to immensely. He was pretty much in love with Iwaizumi, but would Kuroo really give a confession this quickly? Normally Kuroo was the type of guy that would never say something like that impulsively, not in the bedroom after a good fuck, or even when he’s drunk, he never blurts out things he doesn’t mean. Though, it was obvious that Kuroo was in love with the blonde from the moment he met him, he was always by his side, buying him things and trying to make him feel comfortable. It was blatantly obvious that he would do anything to make sure Tsukishima did leave him. But it was clear now that Tsukishima felt differently about the situation.

“Tsukki! He loves you?! What did you say back?” Yamaguchi’s voice got higher, in a tone that almost reminded Oikawa of his own voice whenever he was panicked.

“Nothing.” Tsukishima scowled. “He was drunk so I just told him I would call us an Uber and we would go home.” You could easily tell that Tsukishima was annoyed by all of this, like it all just seemed like one big headache for him. Or that’s what it looked like to most people, but Oikawa could see that look in his eyes, it was subtle, but it showed that he cared very much. Was this Tsukishima’s first love confession? Actually, was this Kuroo’s first love confession? In all the years he had known Kuroo, he had never seen him with a boyfriend long term. They would fuck, but that was the end of it, probably because most guys wanted Kuroo for his wealth and not for him as a person. And despite Tsukishima getting with Kuroo because he was desperate for money, he really didn’t care about any of that now, even refusing to wear the designer clothes Kuroo got him half the time. Kind of ironic, actually.

“Has he been acting weird then? I’ve known him for several years, and he never just blurts things out randomly when he’s drunk, if he said it, it must mean that he really loves you. And worse of all, he probably remembers. Things have still been normal, right?” Oikawa felt alarmed as it was almost like he was helping Tsukishima right now. Well, considering Tsukishima did help him a ton before the date he went on with Iwaizumi, he did sort of owe him a favor, or several.

Tsukishima’s tone shifted as he opened his mouth to speak, it was subtle, but still noticeable to Oikawa, he was calm and collected but now it was like a wave of uncertainty came over him. “He’s been fine for the most part, he spent most of the next day sleeping off a hangover, and we still do ‘things’ if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I wasn’t, but thanks for that.” Oikawa almost had a sarcastic tone as he spoke, what he was trying to get at was to see how possessive Kuroo had been getting, if he said he loved the blonde, even if he was drunk, then there was no doubt that his feelings reciprocated that.

Oikawa had thought it before, but Kuroo was possessive, there was no way around it. If he loved Tsukishima there was no doubt that he was holding on tight to the boy, as if he were his only way of breathing, for better or for worse in this case. And whether Tsukishima was just really dense or didn’t care enough to pay attention was hard to say, but it was clear that he wasn’t biting at all with the questions Oikawa was asking him. He would have to try something else if he wanted to continue this conversation.

“Say Tsukki.” Oikawa spoke again, determined to give this conversation one more go. “What’s the extent of yours and Kuroo’s relationship?”

“What do you mean?” Tsukishima looked puzzled as he blinked his eyes, as expected. “We live together and he’s my sugar daddy, we give each other sexual attention and he buys me things. The relationship goes both ways, if that’s what you’re worried about, we’ve both fucked each other and-“

“-Wait. Did you just say that you’ve fucked Kuroo? As in you’ve topped?” Oikawa almost had to replay the conversation back in his head. 

From his personal experience with people, you could tell there were subtle hints in the way they talked that revealed what truly was on their mind. For Tsukishima in this case, he used ‘sexual attention’ instead of just saying ‘fucking’, Oikawa still didn’t know Tsukishima very well, but that implied they were a lot more than just fuck buddies in his eyes. The other thing was, did he actually top Kuroo? In all the years Oikawa had known the bedhead, and all the time they spent fucking, Kuroo was always the one who topped, not even once, sure, Oikawa did use his mouth on him a few times, but that was it. So, could that actually mean all this was true, that Kuroo was actually in love with Tsukishima, it sounded like it, and it was almost cute to think about. It was almost astounding how much Kuroo was changing because of Tsukishima.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi spoke loudly, his voice rattled with excitement as his expression mimicked something between shock and a proud parent, it was roughly heartwarming as it made Oikawa laugh.

“It’s really not that big of a deal.” Tsukishima shrugged, trying to play off something that was no doubt a big deal, especially for someone who knew Kuroo like Oikawa did. “I just told him on that night we went out with you and Iwaizumi to the onsen that he didn’t have to do everything by himself, he provoked me, and then I topped him… in the bath.” Tsukishima had reluctance in his voice as he spoke that last part, like it was something that wasn’t important to the story at all, but he wanted to add it in there. It told Oikawa everything that he needed to know, they were definitely in love, even if Tsukishima wasn’t the kind of person to just openly admit it like that. Evidently, Tsukishima was changing because of Kuroo too.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi spoke again, with that same tone in his voice as before.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima put his hand up, as if he was trying to quiet his friend from saying anything embarrassing. Oikawa thought that sounded kind of harsh, but he didn’t exactly have a mean tone in his voice, so he really couldn’t think too terribly of him.

“Sorry, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi’s tone quieted down a bit as he gave a friendly smile back over towards Oikawa. Yamaguchi seemed to not mind the way that Tsukishima was almost cold to him. “I see you’ve been taking my advice and being more open around him, though.” 

“Not really.” Tsukishima sighed again, and Oikawa couldn’t help but become intrigued with this conversation, it was like he got to see a new side of Tsukishima, who was definitely also in love with Kuroo. “Anyway.” As if Tsukishima was tired of what probably felt like people lecturing him, he brought his attention back over to Oikawa, a stern look in his eyes as it seemed to remind the model of the reason why he was here in the first place. “What are you going to do about Iwaizumi? That’s why you came here, right?”

He wasn’t wrong. Oikawa almost felt like a coward, questioning Tsukishima about his life when he couldn’t even say anything about his own. Though, Tsukishima was also in a dilemma so it didn’t feel that bad about it. And sure, Iwaizumi was pretty easy going and all, but it’s not like he could just go up to him and say ‘hey Iwa-chan, I’ve been lying to you, I’m not a college student, I’m a model who fell in love with you after seeing you on TV, and I started using The Lion’s Den’ in hopes of us meeting’. Even in his head it sounded bad, no one would believe a story like this, and no one would stay with someone no matter how much they liked them after hearing something like that. He was basically a stalker by this point. What was he going to do? He really liked Iwaizumi, but he didn’t want to keep on lying to him. If Kuroo were here he would probably say ‘the longer you go on with this, the worse it will be’, and he was right, every day was becoming slightly more unbearable than the last. And if Oikawa wasn’t careful soon, it would all be over.

“Me? Well…” Oikawa looked down at the table, resting his hands in his lap as he tried to think of the best possible way to evade this conversation, he always hated talking about himself. He could really go for another distraction right about now. “I guess I’ll tell him soon, and I would rather me tell him than find out some other way, but I-“ Oikawa’s sentence trailed off at the sound of a persistent buzzing noise coming from Tsukishima’s pocket. He was saved.

The blonde pulled his phone out, quickly skimming through what Oikawa assumed to be his text messages, with a sour look on his face. Yamaguchi peered over Tsukishima’s shoulders like he was eavesdropping, he had a smile on his face as he watched his best friend reply, and Oikawa took this moment of silence to be thankful to have a second to gather his thoughts.

“Kuroo?” Oikawa asked, even though he already knew the answer, he noticed by now that Tsukishima only ever made that face when it came to Kuroo, the way his face turned slightly red, looking much worse against his pale skin than it would on someone like himself or Yamaguchi, he would furrow his eyebrows and make a slight scoff of annoyance. Though, it didn’t seem like Tsukishima was the kind of person who had a lot of people that he would text to begin with. It was a special look, and one that was only ever used around Kuroo. It was probably like Tsukishima’s equivalent of how Oikawa called Iwaizumi ‘Iwa-chan’.

“Apparently.” Tsukishima sighed as he began, closing his eyes and tilting his head downwards. Everything always sounded so logical and thought out with him. “He has a business conference out of town all weekend next week, and he wants me to come with him. I’ll just be staying in a rented apartment room with him and we might go out shopping, but I’ll miss school all week, and Bokuto and Akaashi will be there too. I guess Akaashi also has to go to this conference and is bringing Bokuto with him.”

“Oh no, have you ever stayed overnight with Bokuto before?”

“No, should I be worried?” Tsukishima looked up, locking eyes with Oikawa in a slightly concerned voice.

“Uh… you’ll see what I mean.” Oikawa averted his eyes, this was the kind of distraction he was hoping for, and on top of that, a good one too. He didn’t quite know how to put it into words, but Bokuto was an ‘interesting’ person to say the least, from his strange owl obsession to his somehow amazing cooking skills, he was one person that Oikawa could never figure out. But when it came to living with him, he didn’t know how Akaashi did it.

There was one time, it only happened once, but when Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo, and Oikawa used to drink a lot together, sometimes they would get drunk and crash over at Kuroo’s place for the night, and one time he did it while Bokuto was there. He woke up the next day and found Bokuto cooking and almost acting like a loving wife, it was strange, Akaashi seemed to like it, but having something like that was definitely something that freaked Oikawa out at the time. He was only wearing boxers at the time too, and woke him up demanding Oikawa be his assistant chef. Good luck to Tsukishima.

“Um.” Yamaguchi spoke up again, softer than normal as he looked up at Oikawa. He was probably guessing it was just about time for one or both of them to leave, they had been sitting in this college lunch room for what felt like over thirty minutes now. “I still don’t know entirely what’s going on with you and this ‘Iwaizumi’, but I think you should tell him. Who knows, maybe he actually likes you too.”

Those were probably the purest and nicest words Oikawa had heard all day, and he was starting to see why Tsukishima was friends with someone like this, he gave good advice and almost acted as if he was a voice of reason, he would probably make a pretty good wingman too.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Oikawa smirked, he felt like a jerk for finding a way to turn what he thought was an unfortunate conversation into his favor. “I’ll confess to Iwa-chan when Tsukki here deals with his love for Kuroo.”

“I don’t love him, though. He’s just the guy I’m fucking for money.” His voice was just as cold and emotionless as it normally was, making Oikawa surprised at how well he could deny something.

“Tsukki! How can you say that? You told me before that you told him that you like him, so why not just-“

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima repeated himself as he threw a hand in the air, as if he was dismissing the conversation.

“I have to agree with freckles here, Tsukki, I think you’re denying your feelings, though I can see why, Kuroo can be kind of intimidating, I would probably act the same way you are acting right now. So, I guess we’re in the same boat.” Oikawa meant to be as provoking as possible right now, just like Kuroo, he figured that would be the best way to get Tsukishima to react. 

If he could get Tsukishima to retort in some way, he would consider that a win. He knew his personality pretty well, and he knew that Tsukishima was the type of person that if you tell them to do something or give him a suggestion, then he would do the opposite. If he told Tsukishima that he would do the same thing in this situation, then that would probably get him to make a move, be bold and brave for a change. 

He still couldn’t figure out why Tsukishima wouldn’t confess to Kuroo if he did like him too, knowing Kuroo’s true feelings like he did would make the hard part be over with. Maybe he just had some subconscious fear about it. Though, it really isn’t that uncommon in relationships to go from ‘fuck buddies’ to actually dating, you spend so much time with them that it’s pretty much impossible not to develop feelings for them in some way. Oikawa knew that all to well, and if Tsukishima was trying to avoid those feelings, he couldn’t blame him. Maybe he just wasn’t the best at giving advice and helping people.

“Okay then.” Tsukishima smirked, to Oikawa’s surprise, taking his bait. “A deal’s a deal.”

 

“How were classes today?” Iwaizumi had an almost pleasant tone in his voice as he glanced over at Oikawa upon entering his apartment with him. Just as soon as Oikawa had exited the cafeteria with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, he texted Iwaizumi, telling him that his classes were over, and sure enough, he was there in a matter of minutes. Which somehow didn’t make this any easier. Oikawa knew he got a handful of strange looks from people in the parking lot, mostly just from by passers whispering to each other about how ‘he was so attractive’, but having another moment where he knew he was going to have to tell more lied didn’t set him at ease at all.

“They were fine, I guess. I had lunch with Tsukki and one of his friends, but nothing remarkable happened.” Oikawa sighed, rubbing the back of his perfectly quaffed hair as he made his way to the kitchen section of Iwaizumi’s apartment. It was strange just how comfortable he got with living with the athlete like this.

They had only been living together for a few weeks now, but Oikawa felt right at home, though it did help that Iwaizumi’s apartment was not all that different than his own. Unless you’re living in the penthouse suite like Kuroo, most of the apartments around here had the same layout and interior. Iwaizumi’s was just littered with sports equipment and basketballs. To Oikawa’s surprise, he was actually very neat. He was almost like a mom, all of his clothes were neatly folded and he could even cook too. (Not on the level that was the gourmet chef that was Bokuto, the his stuff was still pretty delicious.) Oikawa never got a chance to ask him, but he was getting the sense that he had quite the different upbringing than he did. Oikawa spent most of his time growing up with private schools, getting whatever he wanted with his parents’ wealth, and personal chefs, and all of his friends led a similar life style, but Iwaizumi, he was different, and Oikawa could tell. 

If he had to guess, he would say that he grew up in a standard middle class family, probably something like Tsukishima’s but with not as bad a financial situation, maybe upper middle class at best, and he probably blossomed and developed into sports around his teen years, and everything just took off for him after that. He was probably pretty popular in school too. Though, all of that sounded incredibly cliché, and Oikawa was sure there were quite a few differences in how things actually were for that story. But then again, he was the definition of cliché, he was the ‘pretty boy’ model who came from wealth and had everything handed to him, he got through life by his connections, from his parents and his friends, so if Iwaizumi was a cliché, then so was Oikawa.

He would be lying if he said living with Iwaizumi wasn’t hard, and Oikawa managed to somehow dodge every question about his personal life that was asked, he would always make up something instantly on the spot. Every time he did that he reminded himself that he still needed to give himself some sort of consistent back story, right now he was just a college kid who had a handful of classes every weekday afternoon. It was a miracle that Iwaizumi never requested to see his old apartment, or was a frequent reader of magazines. Oikawa remembered that one of the shoots he did last month was going to appear in a sports magazine soon, and the last thing he wanted was for Iwaizumi to find out about him from flipping through a magazine to find him gracing the pages of a cologne ad. Fuck. 

Oikawa was going to be in so much trouble the day Iwaizumi found out, it was getting worse by the day, he needed to tell him, and needed to tell him quick, but it’s not like this is just the sort of thing you can blurt out during casual conversation. Plus, it wasn’t the kind of thing that could even be believable. I mean, who would believe a model fell in love with an athlete upon seeing him on TV, stooped so low that he decided to use a sugar daddy website in hopes of meeting him, and miraculously it all worked out for his favor. Totally unbelievable. And on top of that, Iwaizumi was more perfect than Oikawa intended, he was almost too chill, a lot like how Akaashi was with Bokuto, he seemed mildly curious about Oikawa, and he never pushed Oikawa to do anything, like he was treating him like a precious jewel. From his experience, with people that told him that he liked him, but Oikawa couldn’t be certain, when it came to reading people who liked each other, like Kuroo and Tsukishima, it was easy, but when it came to reading someone who might actually like him, Oikawa found it more than difficult. And it wasn’t like Oikawa held a high opinion of himself, he knew he was a terrible person, no one who was a good person would do what he did. But as he knew by now, he was beyond desperate.

“Oh by the way, are you free this weekend?” Iwaizumi asked as Oikawa took another sip of water, feeling that cool sensation run down his throat always seemed to calm him down like this, help him think.

“I’m free every weekend, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa couldn’t help but hide the despair in his voice by forcing a pleasant smile on his face. He was still on edge with everything Iwaizumi said, but yet somehow, he just wanted to smile and kiss him every time he spoke, it didn’t matter how worried he was, with Iwaizumi here there was some random feeling of reassurance, and that bubbly feeling in him didn’t quite feel so forced anymore.

That statement was a lie in itself, just last weekend Oikawa had to make up some excuse that he had a weekend lab at school, just so he could sneak out and do a shoot for another underwear ad. He tried to schedule his shoots during the week as best as possible, but sometimes one would come through that he couldn’t change, usually those ones were being done by photographers from out of town or out of the country, and he really didn’t want to pass up an opportunity like that. Usually the foreign photographers can bring pictures of you overseas and make you more well known, and despite some people considering it being an easy job, one that really has no value over the age of thirty, Oikawa actually enjoyed being a model and considered this something he wanted to pursue until he was too old to anymore.

In the back of his mind he had a subtle thought of him and Iwaizumi growing old together, both retiring around age thirty, living off of Iwaizumi’s sports career and Oikawa’s modeling career. Maybe if all of this worked out for the better then that could actually happen, maybe they could get married and have a couple of kids too. No, what was he thinking, this was not the time to be thinking about something like this. Focus, Oikawa.

“The basketball season is starting to wrap up and there’s this banquet this weekend, they give out some awards and it’s a big press gathering. We’re allowed to bring a plus one, so…” Iwaizumi’s sentence trailed off, though it was obvious what he was implying here, it was almost like a date, and Oikawa would jump at the chance to learn and spend more time with Iwaizumi.

“I would love to, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa smiled, and he had a thought in the back of his mind that told him this would be a perfect opportunity to tell him. He wasn’t going to announce in front of everyone on a stage, but he needed to tell Iwaizumi. He was pretty much living in a constant state of panic and he knew it would probably only be a matter of weeks, if not days, and he would find out anyway.

“Oh, by the way.” Oikawa snapped, also remembering his subtle deal with Tsukishima from earlier, which he admittedly still felt kind of bad about, it was almost like he was using Tsukishima for his own personal gain, though he was kind of helping him out, so in his mind that justified it. “Remind me to tell you something important when we go to the banquet.”

“Can’t you tell me now?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow in question, as Oikawa expected.

“Nope.” Oikawa shook his head back and forth, in a slight teasing manner, he could already feel his mood turning better. “Time and places are important for these sorts of things, Iwa-chan.” You could consider this his good deed of the day, or of the century. If he did anything, you could sort of say he had a hand in playing match maker for his two friends. The worst part about happiness was that it was so fragile, it was just as easy to get and have it taken away, and Oikawa knew that better than anyone, but he was starting to get the feeling so did Iwaizumi.

“Iwa-chan.” Oikawa spoke softly again as he sat his water down and walked over to his sugar daddy, planting a gentle kiss on his lips as all the troubles seemed to now vanish from his mind. He was pretty sure Iwaizumi still wasn’t used to how forceful he was, almost like how Oikawa was the dominant one in the relationship, though Iwaizumi seemed to let him, so he was guessing he didn’t have a problem with this, he almost seemed to like it. 

The tone in Oikawa’s voice perked up, and he was always the one to initiate things like this, but the mood was always right, so he figured why should they let a perfect opportunity like this go to waste. He wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi and let his words slowly sink in, no doubt sending a chill up both their spines. “Let’s have sex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter was kind of a let down, since it doesn't have very much Iwaizumi in it, I think I just wanted to make up for that cliff hanger from last chapter, haha. I've also been sick this week and haven't been able to write as much. So this chapter might not be as good. But there will probably only be one more Oikawa and Iwaizumi chapter for this story. Next chapter we go back to Kuroo and Tsukishima and see how staying with Akaashi and Bokuto for the weekend will go, and if Tsukishima will do something about Kuroo's drunken confession.


	11. Some Sort Of Helpful Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima and Kuroo arrive at the rented apartment they are sharing for the weekend with Bokuto and Akaashi, where Tsukishima tries to act calm as he tries to figure out what he's going to do about Kuroo's confession. Later, Tsukishima gets some helpful advice from Bokuto, that may or may not help solve his problem.

“Tsukki! Long time no see!” Bokuto boasted upon opening the door, wrapping Tsukishima in an almost suffocating hug as they entered the room. If he had squeezed him any tighter he felt like he would begin to feel his bones breaking. Why? Out of all the people they had to spend the weekend with, why did it have to be Bokuto? He didn’t hate him or anything, from the time he spent with the owl haired man he seemed rather nice, just overly excited. But even if Akaashi and Kuroo were going to be with him, was he really expected to stay hauled up here all weekend with Bokuto while Kuroo and Akaashi were off on a business meetings or whatever they were called here for?

“We just saw each other last week, Bokuto.” Tsukishima felt like his bones were being crushed as he got out of Bokuto’s grasp. The last time he saw Bokuto was when he was almost drunk at the business party that Kuroo invited him to. If anything, he wanted to wipe that night from his memory, for multiple reasons, but he clearly remembered Bokuto being there and talking to him that night, if anything else.

He still couldn’t believe the nerve of Oikawa from the other day, insisting and saying that Tsukishima had feelings for Kuroo, he didn’t, he knew he didn’t, and that ‘confession’ that Kuroo gave him that night was nothing more than someone’s needy, drunken rambling. He had seen many like it at various college parties he would go to, to pick up Yamaguchi from before, someone would accidentally have too much to drink and spill out their feelings to a sober friend. Most of the times they never ended well, because it was just the alcohol talking, and it was nothing more than that.

He didn’t know what Oikawa was talking about when he said that Kuroo meant to say something like that, and that it was a true confession because ‘Kuroo doesn’t say random things like that when he’s drunk’, it had to be a drunken confession, it had to be. Tsukishima had convinced himself of that which is why this wasn’t bothering him at all anymore. It wasn’t bothering him, right? 

And Kuroo let on no indication that anything had changed since then, he didn’t bring it up or treat Tsukishima any differently, he probably didn’t even remember it, so Tsukishima wasn’t going to bring it up. Even if Akaashi knew about it, he hopefully didn’t let it slip to Bokuto, the last thing he wanted was for another thing for Bokuto to let slip out over casual conversation. But no, that night didn’t happen as far as Tsukishima was concerned.

Tsukishima wasn’t completely sure how far away they were, they went on a plane and knew they were several hours away from Tokyo, and much farther away from Miyagi, though it didn’t really matter that much since they were only going to be here for a few days. He guessed that they were in a bigger city though, he could see tall skyscraper style buildings from outside the view from the room they were staying at. Most of the area looked like it was just filled with business type of buildings, and maybe a few stores here and there. For all he knew they might have still been in Tokyo.

Normally, what they were staying at would be considered a ‘hotel’, but given the size of it, it was more like a one floor apartment or a condo, not as big as Kuroo’s penthouse, but not like the small ‘hotel room’ Tsukishima was imagining.

Upon walking into the place, they were met with a wooden floor and a living room section, a black leather couch, probably fake leather from how it shined against the tall ceiling lights, as it faced the wall away from them, facing a TV mounted in front of the windows, a few other matching leather-like chairs and a small coffee table sat along with it. A kitchen was over on the right side with matching wooden cabinets and a fridge, and a dining section in a similar style was on the opposite side of the floor. 

There were two hallways, one on the left and one on the right, the one on the right had two doors which led to two separate bathrooms, one slightly larger than the other. The other hallway, the one on the left, had two doors leading to two bedrooms, again, one much larger than the other, both with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room.

“Sorry we’re so late, our flight got delayed.” Kuroo laughed, placing a hand on top of his head as if he just got back from a terrible experience and had a headache. Though Tsukishima knew that he didn’t.

Their flight was delayed though, and it was Tsukishima’s first time on a plane, since he spent most of his life getting around by trains and various subway and bus stations. Kuroo paid for them to fly first class, even offering Tsukishima some wine as they sat in the cozy spacious seats there. He honestly didn’t remember much of it, the in-flight movie was some western comedy that he couldn’t really get in to, and the lunch they had was mediocre at best. Plus, he was pretty sure that he ended up falling asleep on Kuroo halfway through the flight. He woke up and his head was in Kuroo’s lap, which made him flustered, and Tsukishima forced himself to apologize profusely, of course, Kuroo told him that he didn’t mind. Seriously, out of all the things to happen, that had to happen, Tsukishima had to be cursed, there was no doubt about it.

“It’s fine, we already put our stuff away. We decided to leave you two the bigger room, figured you’d make better use of it than we would.” Akaashi spoke softly, standing next to Bokuto as both Kuroo and Tsukishima sat their bags down on the floor. He always had that same pleasant tone as he spoke, and he looked over at Tsukishima as if nothing was wrong, as if he didn’t know about what happened that night at the party. And Tsukishima found himself feeling relieved because of that.

“Really? You two didn’t have to do that.” Kuroo smiled, almost laughing in shock as if it was unexpected. Were Akaashi and Bokuto being nice and considerate right now? Not that it was something that was out of character for them, it just came as a surprise to the both. Though from what Tsukishima knew of him, Akaashi was the considerate type.

“It’s fine.” Akaashi repeated himself. “Plus, Bokuto doesn’t like big rooms that much, that’s why back home we have a smaller bedroom apartment.” Tsukishima never noticed it before, but Akaashi was like the perfect boyfriend, the way he seemed so considerate for Bokuto all the time, like all he wanted to do was see him smile. Tsukishima still did have a hard time picturing Akaashi as the ‘daddy’ in their relationship, but the more time he spent with them, the more clear it became that Akaashi was the one who was really in control of everything. He knew you had to be a special kind of person to deal with Bokuto, and apparently, Akaashi was that person.

“Really?” Kuroo laughed again, placing a fist in front of his mouth to hide from his laughter. It felt like he was only moments away from teasing him.

“Hey!” Bokuto yelled, almost like he sounded that he was offended as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Bigger rooms leave you open to the unknown. You don’t know what lurks in the dark corners of your room in the middle of the night.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you’ve seen one too many scary movies, Bo?”

“Hey! I’d like to see you know what lurks in the dark parts of your apartment, Kuroo.”

“Tsukki lurks in my apartment.” Kuroo walked a few feet over to where Tsukishima was, planting a kiss on his lips, catching the blonde off guard. He thought about saying ‘why did you have to involve me in this?’, but Tsukishima couldn’t bring himself to say anything, he just stood there alongside Akaashi as they watched the two bicker back and forth for a few moments in amusement. With the way they teased each other, you would have thought that they were the ones who grew up together, not Kuroo and Akaashi.

“Whatever… you two owe me eating my cooking now.” Bokuto shrugged his shoulders as he brought his attention over to Tsukishima, the way he acted right now made him look like a stubborn little kid. “Tsukki, what do you want for dinner, I’ll cook.”

“Kuroo just usually orders us French food or pizza, you don’t have to cook, Bokuto-“ He knew that the owl man mentioned it before, that he was a good cook, but Tsukishima didn’t want to be a bother to anyone right now, Kuroo and Akaashi were here for a business conference, and could probably do without the noise and the ‘experimental’ meal. 

Earlier when he mentioned this conference to Oikawa, he told him that living with Bokuto for a week would be a challenge, and now he was starting to see what he meant. It was almost like you couldn’t talk him out of doing anything. And it wasn’t like Tsukishima was used to eating that much food anyway, his taste buds had probably just now gotten used to all of the French food Kuroo had been feeding him.

“Nonsense! You have not lived until you’ve tried my cooking. I’ll make us some French food tonight, and some chocolate and strawberry crepes for dessert.”

“You don’t have to, and I would rather not die from your cooking.” Tsukishima brought his eyes to look down at the floor with a wearied tone in his voice. Listening to himself, he thought that he sounded kind of harsh, he didn’t want to put a damper on Bokuto’s spirits this weekend, he was probably just a little cranky from his flight. That, and it still didn’t seem like Bokuto was the most trustworthy person when it came to food. 

He wasn’t used to being around someone with this much enthusiasm, living with Bokuto was like living with a little kid, except ten times worse than Kuroo ever was. He didn’t hate him, but he wished he had an off button, or a mute button. He thought that he would get some peace and quiet this weekend while Kuroo and Akaashi were off in some meetings, but it looked like that wasn’t happening anymore. Plus, he could tell that the walls separating the bedrooms were pretty thin, it would be a miracle if he even managed to get some sleep.

“Hey! My cooking’s not that bad, Tsukki. Tell ‘em, Akaashi!” Bokuto now looked over at Akaashi, who was standing next to Tsukishima, and he could feel that familiar headache rising over him as he just wanted this conversation to end. He was really regretting not bringing his headphones with him right about now. He only decided to bring clothes with him this weekend, but now he really wished he at least brought a book or something to help him pass the time. It was going to be a long weekend.

“Well.” Akaashi sighed, as if he was contemplating over his thoughts before he spoke, his voice was almost soothing as Tsukishima listened to it, feeling Kuroo wrap his arms around himself from behind. “I haven’t had any health problems from his cooking, and it’s always been edible.”

“Akaashi, you could surprise me occasionally and give me a real compliment sometimes, you know?” Bokuto almost had a fake whining tone in his voice as he clenched his fist, he wasn’t upset, if anything, he probably thought that he was being funny. Akaashi must have at least, because Tsukishima swore that he heard a slight smirk coming from Akaashi next to him.

“Okay then.” Akaashi took a few steps forward, Tsukishima thought there was more he was going to say there, but he certainly did know how to deal with his owl boyfriend.

It was as if Akaashi was saying ‘does this surprise you?’, as he walked over to Bokuto and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. Tsukishima almost felt bad for watching, like some sort of weird pervert, but thankfully it went just as quickly as it came, and Bokuto’s face was bright red with excitement as he ceased to be able to say anything for a few minutes. Above all else though, he looked happy. Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure if Akaashi was one for showing affection in public, but he was starting to get the sense that if Bokuto was happy, then Akaashi was happy, and it made Akaashi happy to make Bokuto happy. It was almost disgusting how cute they were right now. 

“Tsukki, we should kiss too, come here.” Kuroo placed his hand on Tsukishima’s chin and swiftly turned him around as he whispered in a slow, seductive voice. His lips were rough and sloppy like always, but Tsukishima adjusted his body to make it more comfortable, so he was now leaning in to Kuroo as Kuroo held him close. His lips lingered as he pulled away, and Tsukishima found himself surprised that it stopped there, he figured Kuroo and him would have their lips glued to each other until they found their room. Was he showing some self-control?

“We’re going to go put our stuff in our room, but I got our schedule in an email on the way over here.” Kuroo was speaking directly to Akaashi right now, getting him to turn around and face away from Bokuto as he listened. “Our first meeting starts in four hours, so we should have time to eat dinner, and then we’ll be back in the evening. Hopefully you two won’t get too lonely without us.” He turned his attention to both Tsukishima and Bokuto, with almost a teasing tone in his voice, making Tsukishima scowl just upon reaction. Tsukishima was a lot of things, but he was never lonely, for someone who pretty much just lived by himself for the past year or so, he was used to it.

“I’m going to make out with Tsukki while you’re gone.” Bokuto teased as he smirked, sending an unfamiliar and unwelcomed chill down Tsukishima’s spine. He knew he was only joking, but saying something like that wasn’t exactly appreciated right now.

“What?” Both Tsukishima and Kuroo spoke out in unison, probably for different reasons though. Tsukishima was scowling and Kuroo was, well, provoking, like usual. 

“Just kidding. The only one I want to make out with is Akaashi, if only Tsukki and I could go to the meetings too.” Bokuto planted a kiss on Akaashi’s cheek, making him give out a vague smile, as Bokuto made his way over to the kitchen. “Anyway.” Bokuto took a deep breath as he tied a dark blue apron around his body. “I’ll have dinner done in about two or three hours, so don’t fuck for too long in your room.” 

“Alright, Bo. Well, you heard him, Tsukki, we can’t fuck all night like I know we both want to, so come on, let’s go.” Kuroo almost laughed again, grabbing Tsukishima’s arm with one hand and the bags with the other, proceeding to lead the blonde down the hallway until they got to their room. 

“Wait-“ Tsukishima rose his voice almost in protest. Well, it wasn’t a ‘protest’, but even if Akaashi and Bokuto knew they were fucking, did he have to be so up front about all of this? Tsukishima clearly didn’t think so, but he couldn’t deny this was what he wanted, he loved it when Kuroo touched him, the way it made him feel, and the way he kissed him. I guess you could say that was the one and only perk of their relationship, but Tsukishima still found himself enjoying far more than he ever thought he would.

Inside, their bedroom was smaller than the one they shared at Kuroo’s penthouse, with only a king-sized bed and a few pieces of furniture to fill out the lack of color in the room. Well, they were only going to be here for a weekend, so it was decent enough, and it was still steps above any ‘normal’ hotel room you would find in the area. 

Ugh, listening to himself right now, Tsukishima was starting to feel like he became incredibly pretentious thanks to Kuroo. Just listen to him, a few months ago any room with a bed and enough room for him to stretch his large body would have been a good room as far as he was concerned, but now he was comparing just about anything and everything to Kuroo and everything he had. This was bad. Why was he even comparing things to Kuroo in the first place? Was Kuroo just some unspoken standard in his head now? 

He can’t be doing this, he shouldn’t be doing this. He needed to remind himself that this thing he had with Kuroo was only temporary, he could wake up next week and one of them could decide that they wanted to end this ‘arrangement’ and Tsukishima would be back to being just a college student, he shouldn’t be acting and thinking this way, and getting attached like this. He knew Kuroo didn’t actually love him, and he knew one day Kuroo would leave him for someone else. He had no reason to think their relationship was anything more than two people satisfying sexual urges, and one of them helping the other out financially.

“What do you think, Tsukki? It’s a bit smaller, but do you like it?” Kuroo placed their bags down at the edge of the bed, as he eyed over the room before looking back at Tsukishima, awaiting an answer.

“Oh, it’s fine.” Tsukishima was distracted by his thoughts, this time by the things Oikawa said the other day. Did Kuroo really love him? No, there was no way, if he did he wouldn’t have picked a time to confess when Tsukishima knew he was drunk, and he hadn’t said anything about it since then so it must have just been rambling. That had to be it, no way would anyone ever fall in love with Tsukishima, especially not Kuroo.

“You okay, Tsukki? You’ve been acting weird since we got here. Did you see someone you know? Or is it just from Bo’s cooking? Look, I’ve never had it before either, but if Akaashi says it’s okay, then it should be okay. He’s not actually going to kill us with his food, though he might spike our drinks.” Kuroo laughed, like he was trying to ease whatever tension he thought Tsukishima was feeling right now, and he wasn’t too far off. Even Tsukishima knew that his mind couldn’t leave the subject alone.

“Oh, I’m fine, just a little jet lagged.” Tsukishima laughed, shaking any strange thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to be worrying about something like this, he could worry about it when he was alone with Bokuto tonight, but right now he was with Kuroo, and he should enjoy that while he had that. Wait, enjoy it? Did Tsukishima actually enjoy what he was doing with Kuroo?

“Okay.” Kuroo smiled, as if that answer was satisfying enough. “I think I know of something that can cure your jet lag, wanna try it?” Kuroo winked, wrapping an arm around Tsukishima from behind as he pulled him in for another kiss.

“That depends, does it involve me lying down?” Not that there was any doubt in him what Kuroo was implying, if anything, Tsukishima would probably welcome Kuroo’s warmth right about now. 

It was almost like every thought vanished from his mind, as their hands ran over each delicate button of their shirts, feeling his own temperature rise as Kuroo kissed along his jawline. “Well Tsukki, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

“So, what’d you think? It was great, right? Come on, tell me it was great.” Bokuto bounced up from the dining room table, placing his hands on his hips as he let out an over confident laugh. Tsukishima could already feel a headache coming on as he finished up half of the food that was on his plate. Though, he would be lying if he said it wasn’t pretty tasty.

He nodded his head in some form of agreement, refusing to muster out words right now as he took another sip of water. A few hours ago, he had this weird uneasiness in his stomach, probably from his mind refusing to forget about the events from the other night, but now it was like they were all gone. It was amazing what a few hours of great sex can do to make you forget your problems. Well, Tsukishima didn’t exactly consider it a ‘problem’, despite what Oikawa said, he was sure that Kuroo was just drunk that night, he didn’t mean to say it, and he was sure that if Kuroo remembered that he said it, then he would want Tsukishima to forget about it. As if someone who’s a rich bachelor like Kuroo would ever be capable of falling in love with someone like Tsukishima.

Not that Tsukishima held a very high opinion of himself in his mind, but typically most people marry people who come from similar backgrounds as them, the rich marry the rich, that sort of thing. And despite how Kuroo went on about how they were ‘sexually compatible’, they came from different worlds, and Tsukishima was certain there was nothing about him that Kuroo would ever find likable. And it wasn’t like Tsukishima had feelings for him anyways. 

But with all that aside, Tsukishima didn’t know what to expect with having dinner here tonight. I guess in one way you could consider the five-star food from the penthouse hotel or the French restaurants Kuroo would take Tsukishima to as ‘home cooking’, but there was something different about walking out of your room and seeing Bokuto standing there in an apron, as he pulled a fresh plate of whatever out of the oven.

The whole dinner, at least in Tsukishima’s mind, was a big ‘mush fest’, with Bokuto feeding Akaashi his cooking, and Akaashi stealing kisses from the owl haired man the entire night. Of course, every time Akaashi would do that, Bokuto’s face would get all red and he would get flustered and excited. Tsukishima said it before, but they really were disgustingly cute.

Kuroo sat next to Tsukishima and continuously touched his leg from under the table the entire night, Tsukishima didn’t mind it, but getting that hot feeling over your body as your face turns a bright shade of red, wasn’t exactly the feeling he wanted as he forced down some strawberry coated desserts. It wasn’t like Bokuto and Akaashi cared too much about it, since they were preoccupied with themselves the whole night, but still. 

Why did Kuroo always have to do this to him? And more importantly, why did his body always have to react this way? It was always like his body was begging to be touched by him, and it wasn’t satisfied until that happened and their lips met. He was cursed, he had to be, and the curse was Kuroo.

“It was fine, I guess.” Tsukishima forced himself to say out as he got up from the table, he would never admit to his face, but Bokuto’s cooking wasn’t half bad, and he was really skilled at making desserts. His strawberry crepes were probably the best thing he ever had.

“Just fine? Hey Tsukki, you didn’t eat all the food on your plate?” Bokuto almost pouted as he walked into the kitchen, and Tsukishima was certain he was about to get another ‘you’re so skinny, you should get more. Are you eating properly?’ lecture. He was so used to getting them from his family, and occasionally from Kuroo that he just tuned them out by this point. But he had a feeling that he couldn’t just tune out Bokuto, his voice would probably reach anyone, even if they were on the other side of the planet.

“It’s fine. I don’t eat much, really.” Tsukishima shrugged it off as he made his way into the living room section of the apartment, where both Kuroo and Akaashi were. The two of them were fiddling with the ties on their suits as they were getting ready to go to the first of their meetings tonight.

Tsukishima didn’t say it, but he wondered whose idea it was to have the first meeting start after five in the evening like this, well, he guessed it was to give all of the people time to arrive here and rest after their flights, but it still didn’t make a lot of sense. Kuroo must have thought the same thing, because that’s when he looked at Tsukishima and spoke up.

“I don’t know whose bright idea it was to have a meeting this late in the evening, I think the rest of them this weekend only go until the afternoon.” He had a slight tone of sarcasm and annoyance in his voice as he finished up with his tie, he almost sounded like he was being inconvenienced by all of this, and still with his unmanageable bedhead sticking out in every direction. Tsukishima didn’t even bother to comment on how nobody was going to take him seriously with hair like that.

“That reminds me, Kuroo.” Akaashi spoke softly as he walked over to where Bokuto was, he acted as if he was getting ready to give his owl haired boyfriend a goodbye kiss before leaving. “Isn’t your father going to be here at the first meeting? Isn’t that kind of rare?”

“Kuroo’s father?” Tsukishima widened his eyes as if he wasn’t fully paying attention to the conversation. He knew that Kuroo mentioned it before, but he did say that he worked with his father and followed him to meetings sometimes, so it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise to anyone. It came as more of a surprise to Tsukishima that he spoke about that than anything else.

“It’s not that much of a big deal.” Kuroo shrugged as if he was dismissing it. “He probably just wants to start the conference off right or make an announcement or something.”

“Hm.” Akaashi hummed as he leaned in to give Bokuto a kiss, his face turning bright red as he whispered something into Akaashi’s ear. He had a pondering look on his face, as if he was thinking about something.

Tsukishima looked away, feeling almost awkward as he looked over at Kuroo. It was nearly distressing that he just sort of expected Kuroo to kiss him right now, and why would he? It was just sort of a routine for them, whenever Kuroo would leave to go to work, or go in for a meeting, he would give Tsukishima one of his usual sloppy kisses, and make some pass at him, and then he would be off. He didn’t need to do that, he didn’t have to do that, but he always did. But why now, why was Tsukishima right now slightly worrying that Kuroo wouldn’t touch him, wouldn’t kiss him, wouldn’t say something really stupid to him, why was he so concerned? He didn’t care if he did it or not, right? He shouldn’t care. Nothing had changed between them other than Tsukishima hearing that not-confession, so why did he care so much like this?

“Tsukki, come here. Give me a good luck kiss before I go to my meeting.” Tsukishima sighed relief as he spoke those words, letting his lips welcome themselves against Kuroo’s. 

Nothing had changed and all felt right in the world right now. So why was he so worried about this only a moment ago, he couldn’t possibly like Kuroo, and like all of this, could he? No, impossible. He just liked the way Kuroo made him feel when he touched him, that was it. Tsukishima Kei had been turned into a pervert who liked sexual attention, which was another problem onto itself, but meant absolutely nothing here. He knew he was stubborn, so he was just going to keep on believing that.

“Not resisting today, I see.” Kuroo smirked, provoking Tsukishima as he scowled and forgot what was even on his mind in the first place. “We have to go now, the car is waiting, but we’ll be back in a few hours, and we can, you know, go for round two tonight when we get back.” Kuroo knew how to get what he wanted, Tsukishima knew that by now, but it never ceased to surprise him. The way Kuroo knew exactly what to say to leave Tsukishima wanting more, the way he kissed Tsukishima’s head, turning around and smirking at him right before him and Akaashi left the room, and the way he made Tsukishima feel so good all the time. Fuck, he was a mess right now.

Tsukishima gave a feint glance over to Bokuto, as the two of them gave each other a look of ‘so what are we going to do now?’, probably out of boredom, as they made their way over to the black couch in the middle of the living room section. Tsukishima was surprisingly in a good mood right now, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to strike up a conversation with Bokuto as he sat down next to him. You could still smell the chocolate and strawberry on him as he reached for the TV remote on the small coffee table. Tsukishima wasn’t really much for watching TV, so he gave Bokuto another nod as he started flipping through the channels.

First, he stopped on the news, which was showing the local weather and how it was supposed to rain tomorrow and for the rest of the week, Tsukishima did note to himself earlier that it did look like it was rather depressing outside today. Then he went to a sports channel, a basketball game was on TV, and Tsukishima thought he recognized Iwaizumi out on the court and then wondered if Oikawa was at the game. He could have sword he remembered Oikawa mentioning something about Iwaizumi inviting him to a game when he had lunch with him at the university the other day.

The two continued to sit in silence as Bokuto flipped it to a cooking channel, Tsukishima thought that must have been where he learned all of the recipes he used for Akaashi, right now re-runs of ‘Iron Chef’ were on as Bokuto stopped to watch it for a moment, his eyes got all big, like he was taking it all in before flipping through the channels again. This time to cheesy sitcom that got an annoyed groan from Bokuto, as if he was dissatisfied. There really was nothing on TV at this time of day.

Bokuto sighed as he settled back down on the basketball game, lightly throwing the remote down onto the coffee table a few feet in front of them, it made a ‘thud’ noise as it hit the surface. And Tsukishima once again was left with those thoughts weighing on his mind as he stared at the screen. What was with him today? It was like ever since he had that conversation with Oikawa everything felt different, just like he had to say something to Kuroo, but couldn’t bring himself to. Kuroo didn’t love him and was sure he didn’t mean to say that. And it’s not like if he said anything to him that Kuroo would even remember anyways, so why, why did he feel this way right now? It was driving him crazy, so crazy that he might actually do something he wouldn’t normally do.

“Um… Bokuto?” Tsukishima’s mouth started moving on its own as he looked over at the owl haired man sitting next to him, his face seemed glued to the screen as he looked over at Tsukishima. Was he really about to do something like this? He could sense the hesitance in his own voice as he continued and he knew it was too late to turn back now. “When you and Akaashi were still sugar daddy and sugar baby, how did you decide that you wanted to start dating?”

“Is something wrong, Tsukki?” That was about the answer he thought he would get out of Bokuto, Tsukishima wasn’t one for ever showing his feelings or asking questions, so he probably couldn’t do something like this without someone asking if he was okay.

Tsukishima bit down on his lower lip, questioning if he should even continue with what he was saying. He had so many uncertainties right now in his mind, worse than on the day he first met Kuroo. He felt like he was going insane, Kuroo acted normal, but he could still feel like something wasn’t right, he had to say something, do something, and it wasn’t like there was anyone else he could ask about this sort of thing right now.

“Nothing’s wrong per say.” Tsukishima averted eyes from Bokuto as he looked at the nearest wall, his voice was so low and bland, right now he wondered if Bokuto could even hear it. “I assume Akaashi told you about Kuroo’s confession at the party?” Tsukishima assumed Akaashi and Bokuto were the kind of couple that told each other everything, if Akaashi knew about it, he figured there was no way Bokuto didn’t also know, they even were together the time it happened. Though, Akaashi did seem like a respectable person, maybe this was the first time Bokuto was hearing about it, and he just dug himself into an even deeper hole.

“Yeah, but Akaashi made me swear not to tell anyone, or he said he would never eat my cooking again.” Tsukishima forced a slight smirk as Bokuto laughed, Akaashi did seem like the kind of person who could be scary when he wanted to be, and this just proved it.

Tsukishima sighed, realizing Bokuto was staring at him deeply, as if he was waiting for him to continue the conversation. At this moment he just tried to speak, turn his brain off and let the words flood from his mouth, hoping that somehow that might make this situation a little bit better. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, how did you and Akaashi go from two people who fuck for money, to being in a normal relationship, and how did you deal with that?” It was about as good of a question as any, though, asking someone like Akaashi this sort of thing would have been more ideal, his thoughts always seemed more quiet and collected than Bokuto’s. But whenever Akaashi was around, so was Kuroo, and it wasn’t like he could sneak out of the room in the middle of the night to ask him this sort of thing.

“Hm. That’s a bit of a complicated story.” Bokuto scratched the back of his head, as if he was trying to recall a deep memory as Tsukishima brought himself to face him again. He wasn’t even sure what kind of answer he was expecting, he even almost felt ashamed as he stooped to this level of asking Bokuto for advice. Why was he asking this in the first place? Did he actually like Kuroo and want to date him? Of course not, this was just curiosity and nothing more, or at least, that’s what Tsukishima told himself.

“Akaashi was the one who asked me, though.” Bokuto spoke up again, as if he was being careful over the words he used. “And well, I don’t know how much you know about the business side of the company, but Akaashi and Kuroo’s dads are old friends, and they both equally own half of the company. About a year ago, Akaashi’s dad approached him and told him that if he wanted to be a successor to the company, then he was going to have to find someone to settle down with in the next year or so, his dad even tried to set him up with a few girls at the time. Then, that night he came home and told me all about it, I originally thought that he was going to tell me that our ‘arrangement’ was going to have to end, but he surprised me and told me that he liked me and that he didn’t want to let me go. I always did sort of have a thing for him ever since I saw him, so it was like a mutual thing. And I started doing all the cooking and cleaning for him to act as the ‘housewife’ to please his dad. He came around six months later and approved of the relationship. Akaashi is still a year older than Kuroo, but his dad was okay with anyone as long as he wasn’t living the ‘playboy’ lifestyle.”

“I see.” Tsukishima didn’t even think about something like that until now, if Kuroo’s dad did own the company, even if it was just part of it, he would probably need to get married to someone within the next few years, someone who was good for him and could actually deal with his personality. Someone who wasn’t Tsukishima. 

When it came down to it, they were quite a few years apart, Kuroo was almost twenty-four, and Tsukishima was only in his third year of college. Kuroo would probably be in charge of a company in about five years from now, and neither of them would have time for a sugar daddy relationship then. This was the problem with the whole ‘friends with benefits’ style relationships, one of you will have to get attached when it’s time to end it off. That was another thing here, end it off, when it came down to it, from day one Tsukishima told himself that this ‘thing’ he had with Kuroo would only be temporary, he only did it for money, and he didn’t even expect it to go on for more than a year. But right now, Tsukishima felt a slight twinge of sadness well up within him as he thought about ending it with Kuroo. Kuroo could walk through the door tomorrow, and tell Tsukishima that he met someone, someone he really likes, or that his father set him up with someone and he accepted it, and it would all be over. This wasn’t like a breakup, they weren’t even dating, or a couple. So why did he feel this way? Was it possible that Tsukishima liked Kuroo?

“Hey, tell me, Tsukki. Has anything changed since then?” Bokuto spoke up again, probably realizing that Tsukishima was deep in thought. He was slightly thankful that he said something to bring him back down to earth, and not dwelling on whatever was in his head right now.

“Nothing’s really changed. He still kisses me the same way, and when we have sex it feels great and I forget about my problems for a few hours, but after that I’m reminded that he confessed and I feel like I just have to say something. But I can never bring myself to, plus, I remember that he’s my sugar daddy and this ‘relationship’ we have will end soon either way. When it comes down to it, in this relationship we’re not really entitled to do anything other than sexual stuff.” Tsukishima thought he sounded depressed as he talked, he didn’t mean to, that was just his voice as he spoke when he was trying to concentrate, eagerly awaiting what Bokuto was going to respond to him with. 

He sounded weird though, this was probably the first time Tsukishima had voluntarily given out information about his feelings like this. What was wrong with him? Normally no one would even know if Tsukishima was upset, but here he was, pouring his feelings out to Bokuto, so to speak, and trying to suppress the thoughts in the back of his mind. Why was he doing this exactly? Tsukishima had no reason to freak out about anything, all he had to do was pretend everything didn’t happen that night at the party, and it would all be fine. So why, why couldn’t he do that? Why was he panicking and looking for some kind of reassurance? And why did he care about Kuroo so much right now?

“I think you’ve got it all wrong, Tsukki. Now, I’m not good at giving advice, that’s more of Akaashi’s thing, and no one has ever really taken my advice, but I’ve known Kuroo for over a year, and he never-“

“-says random things when he’s drunk? Oikawa said the same thing when I told him about it.” Tsukishima was starting to regret this conversation, he always did hate talking about his feelings like this, it made him feel weak and vulnerable. Maybe ending things with Kuroo would have been the better option, the thought did cross his mind when they first entered this ‘arrangement’ anyways, and it’s not like he didn’t think about it from time to time, plus, his head could surely use a break from spinning all the time.

“I was going to say Kuroo never does things half-heartedly, if he likes you, then he likes you. If he confessed to you, even if he was drunk, then that probably means he didn’t mean to say it at the time, he probably didn’t want to scare you off. The way I’ve seen it, he’s always been considerate of you, trying to make you feel comfortable because he knows that you’re still getting used to his life style.” Bokuto stood up off the couch, his voice getting louder the more he went on, almost as if he was trying to convince Tsukishima of something.

“So, what are you saying? That I should just tell him he confessed to me and that I like him too? I’m not the domestic housewife type like you are, Bokuto.”

“That may be true, but his parents are far less strict than Akaashi’s were, his dad really won’t care unless you’re that troublesome. Plus, it’s not like he’s getting married soon anyway. But answer me this, Tsukki. Do you like Kuroo? In the romantic sense, I mean. If he did want to end this, would you be able to just walk away without telling him all this?”

“Well. I-“ Since when did Bokuto become the logical one between the four of them? This was the type on conversation he would expect to be having from Akaashi, not Bokuto and his strange owl obsession. 

He would be lying if he said Bokuto wasn’t right though. Tsukishima hated expressing his emotions, mostly because he was undoubtedly bad at it, but he knew that deep down the one thing he feared the most was getting attached to Kuroo, he had thought that from day one, and it was the one thing he wanted to avoid the most. 

The bedhead probably had no idea how he felt because Tsukishima rarely voices his opinion and can be hard to read, even to the point where he comes off as cold at times. He needed to tell Kuroo if he wanted him to know how he was feeling. But it’s not like he could just say it when he walked back in through the door, right? Plus, Kuroo’s probably busy this week with all the meetings and didn’t need Tsukishima to bother him. Tsukishima always liked to make sure he was out of the way when Kuroo was doing his business stuff.

“See? The fact that you can’t muster out a straight yes or no means that you do like him. So why don’t you just tell him? He clearly already likes you. And if it doesn’t work out, you can always blame him for his drunk confession giving you confusing and conflicting feelings. See, I’m a genius.” 

“Will that really work?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at Bokuto, as he was trying to clear his head. Bokuto had an over confident smile on his face that went from ear to ear, he seemed proud of himself.

Did he even like Kuroo? He felt so different around him that he still couldn’t be sure. And would Kuroo even accept a confession like that? What would even happen if Tsukishima were to do that? Would they kiss and all would be well? Or would they break up? Well, breaking up would imply they were actually a couple. But then again, any way you look at it, they were technically a couple. They lived together, slept together, ate together, and went out shopping together. Tsukishima did try to provoke Kuroo and make the first move to kiss him from time to time, but that was about as far as ‘brave’ and ‘bold’ that he had ever gotten. Was it really time for him to make another move?

“Of course, it will. I know my best friend! Now, you should thank me by helping me cook breakfast tomorrow, I’m making Akaashi’s favorite, but we can cook something up for Kuroo too.” Bokuto winked at him, as if he was trying to send him a subtle message, and it sent a chill down Tsukishima’s spine in the worst way possible. “Just think of how happy Kuroo would be to see his loving baby in an apron, cooking for him as he just wakes up from one of the best night’s he’s ever had.”

Tsukishima sighed again, he had been doing a lot of that recently. He was forced to come to terms with what he was about to do once again. “He likes eggs and pancakes.”

 

“Tsukki, I’m back, did you miss me?” Upon entering the apartment, Kuroo slammed the door open, hitting it against the wall, holding his arms out as if he expected Tsukishima to welcome him. Well, he probably didn’t expect Tsukishima to do that, it failed every other time he attempted that move.

“Welcome home.” Tsukishima had a major lack of enthusiasm in his voice as he walked closer to Kuroo, forcing himself to plant a soft kiss on his lips. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bokuto and Akaashi embracing each other in a similar kiss, but there’s seemed more passionate as Bokuto leaned forward and kept his hands in his pockets. He could hear a little bit of small talk coming from them as their lips departed, Akaashi asking him ‘what did you two do while we were gone?’, and Bokuto proceeding to vent about how there was nothing on TV in the early evening hours.

“How was the meetings?” Tsukishima looked away as he felt almost embarrassed to ask a concerned question like that. It was like he was trying to make an effort to welcome Kuroo home, like he really was a loving housewife who was welcoming their husband back from a long day at the office. Ugh, Tsukishima hated how he felt right now. He needed to tell Kuroo and get this over with, so things could go back to how they used to be before the party.

“I’m so glad to see you, Tsukki. You won’t believe the terrible time I had tonight.” Kuroo put a hand on top of his forehead, as if he was being a drama queen, his tone almost sounded like it was mocking Oikawa. And for a moment Tsukishima thought the worst. Was the company going under? Was Kuroo going to be out of a job soon? All of these were terrible outcomes, and Tsukishima couldn’t help but feel concerned with his tone of voice.

“What happened?” Was all Tsukishima was able to muster out as both him and Kuroo still stood in the doorway of the apartment, with the door wide opened. Kuroo had a panicked tone in his voice, which did nothing for his thoughts. He was starting to think that maybe now wasn’t the best time to tell Kuroo anything, Tsukishima was well aware of how important timing was in these sorts of things.

Kuroo sighed, looking at Tsukishima as if he was about to tell him something important as the blonde listened in. And his eyes widened as he struggled to read Kuroo’s lips as he spoke, almost in disbelief from the words he was about to hear. “My father wants me to get married.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this chapter, especially the beginning of it, was very difficult for me to write for some reason, I was really struggling with it, but here it is. Next chapter we'll see if Tsukishima really is able to confess to Kuroo, and what's going to happen with that.


	12. Irrational

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima finally confronts his feelings for Kuroo, and learns what he means when he says he's 'getting married'. Of course, things don't happen quite how he expects them to.

“Getting… married?” Tsukishima’s voice remained calm, like he was in some form of disbelief as he cocked his head to the side and just looked at Kuroo. What did he just say? Tsukishima thought that he must have misheard what Kuroo just said, there was no way that he heard him say ‘married’ with a serious tone in his voice, right?

It almost seemed to have the opposite effect on Tsukishima. Normally, most people, even if they were in a similar situation as the two of them, wouldn’t be so calm about this. If the roles were reversed, or if it was Akaashi and Bokuto, or Oikawa and Iwaizumi in this situation instead, he was certain that at least one of them would have a panicked voice right about now, or at least some kind of panicked expression. But for Tsukishima, he didn’t know how to panic, his voice was always perpetually calm, sometimes to the point where he is unable to show any emotion at all, and most people just thought he looked bored. I guess you could say that is his one big flaw in life, well, that and probably his terrible personality. 

Growing up, people always used to ask him ‘what’s wrong with your eyes?’ or ‘are you some arrogant punk?’ all because of the way he looked. He was used to it. His bored expression in his eyes was just like being born with a certain color of hair or eyes to Tsukishima. 

But what he wasn’t used to was feeling bad about it, he felt terrible for not showing any emotion at all right now. His eyes felt cold and tired as he looked up at Kuroo, who not doubt had a terrible headache right now. Maybe he was just tired from the trip, but every fiber of his being right now was screaming out ‘this is the end’. I guess you could say the conversation he had with Bokuto earlier was useless by this point now. Tsukishima might have been a bit on the negative side, but he knew when good things have to come to an end.

“Dude, what do you mean you’re getting married? Akaashi and I were supposed to have the first wedding.” Bokuto joked, lightly slapping Kuroo on the back as he made his way over to him, assuming this all was some elaborate prank, and if it wasn’t for the overly depressing atmosphere that seemed to surround the room, Tsukishima might have thought the same way. This wasn’t too far off of the joking they would do when they would get together at Kuroo’s penthouse from time to time.

Silence overcame Kuroo, it was a new look and a new sound for him, one that Tsukishima wasn’t used to at all, it was alarming, and not the ‘suddenly self aware’ kind, this was more of the ‘what the hell is going on’ kind. Was Kuroo actually getting married? No, he couldn’t be. Well, it gave Tsukishima a good excuse to walk away now. If this kind of thing didn’t happen now, then it would surely happen later. This was bound to happen anyway, so this gave him the perfect excuse, the perfect, immature excuse. Might as well end the heart break before the wound gets too deep. And it’s not like they ever did anything outside of kissing and fucking anyways, they weren’t like Bokuto and Akaashi. Tsukishima was certain Kuroo didn’t actually love him.

As if Bokuto wanted to get some answers, he turned his head and brought his attention over to Akaashi, who had a sour look on his face, one that said he went through quite an ordeal tonight. He pinched the bridge of his nose with an annoyed look, as if he was about to say something that he really didn’t want to say, and he probably would have if Kuroo wouldn’t have interrupted him.

“My father was there tonight to give me the whole ‘you’re getting older, you need to settle down and prepare yourself to take over the company’ speech, it’s not the first time he’s done something like that. But this time he even picked out a handful of women who also come from wealthy families and their parents own companies, and he thought it would be good for business and a god idea to boost sales. I declined them all though. it just pisses me off.” There was raw anger and annoyance in his voice as he curled his fists next to his legs, for a moment it looked like he was going to hit something, but Tsukishima never saw any signs in him before of violence, so he wasn’t sure. There was still so much about Kuroo that he didn’t know. This was it, this was the time to end it before things got worse, which they inevitably will. 

“Um, Kuroo. Since you’re here, now is probably as good as time as any to tell you something.” This was probably terrible timing, and it probably didn’t make sense to most people why Tsukishima was about to do what he was about to do, but this whole relationship he had with Kuroo didn’t make sense to begin with, so it’s not like he needed to have a solid reason behind his logic. You could probably say that emotions and fear were controlling him now more than anything, and it wasn’t completely different for Tsukishima.

“Yeah, what is it, Tsukki?” Kuroo still had that tone in his voice, the one that said he was probably going to go get a drink from the kitchen and then go to bed early. Tsukishima also picked up on the slight redness in his eyes, probably from fighting with his father, if he had to guess. Though then again, Kuroo didn’t seem as much mad about it as he did inconvenienced, so maybe he was wrong.

He could feel both Bokuto’s and Akaashi’s eyes on him from a few feet away, he could see that Bokuto had an excited expression on his face, looking like a happy little kid like always, he was probably expecting Tsukishima to give Kuroo his slightly partial love confession right now. Not that he could even put into words how to go about doing something like that. 

This was the better option, in Tsukishima’s mind at least, Kuroo needed someone who was good for him, and though Tsukishima did start to care for the bedhead in these past few months, the truth was they came from different worlds, Kuroo needed to consider his future and start a family, and not spend his time paying and sleeping with a twenty-one year old college kid who was only desperate in the first place. And on top of that, Tsukishima’s family wouldn’t have liked Kuroo, they didn’t know he was gay, and surely, they probably couldn’t handle it. It was better for everyone this way. Tsukishima didn’t want to be a burden to Kuroo as it was. It would be like removing a Band-Aid, just do it, or then in this case say it quickly and get it over with. He was certain Kuroo didn’t actually love him, so there was no real problem here.

Tsukishima didn’t even bring himself to look Kuroo in the eyes, his grand plan right now was to say it, and then bolt it for the door, he even kept his eyes locked down at floor level to make sure of that, only getting Kuroo’s shoes and part of his ankles in his line of sight. He remembered that he still had some money that Kuroo gave him in the pocket of the pants he was wearing, Kuroo gave it to him the other day ‘in case of an emergency’, and this definitely qualifies as an emergency, he figured it should at least be enough to get him to Yamaguchi’s apartment back in Tokyo.

From behind him, Tsukishima could hear the sounds of the thunder crack from the rain storm that was happening outside, the man on the weather channel did mention something like this happening in the whole few seconds Bokuto kept the channel on. He was also pretty sure that the hallways in the hotel were probably soaked from people walking in and out with their wet shoes, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. Tsukishima reminded himself as he took a deep breath, and Kuroo seemed to only pay more attention to him as the silence went on, like his bad mood was now back down to his normal mood and he was just curious.

“I think we should break off our arrangement.” It was as simple as that, less than ten words, and Tsukishima was used to coming across as cold, but just merely saying it flat out like that didn’t sound right. Was there more that he should say? But what?

“Tsukki. What-“ Kuroo began, with a level of confusion that Tsukishima was sure he would get in return. He wasn’t going to make this easy, was he? Doing something like this would have been much easier if they weren’t face to face communicating right now, and it didn’t help that Bokuto and Akaashi were standing only a few feet away, probably both just as confused as Kuroo was. Tsukishima did his best to tune them out, but he felt like he could hear Akaashi’s voice asking ‘did you say something to Tsukishima, Bokuto?’.

Tsukishima placed one of his hands on his forehead, as if he was trying to hide his eyes. Why the hell was he crying right now? He shouldn’t be sad about this, he knew this was coming either way, they had no bond outside of sex and money, so why were tears welling up in his eyes right now?

“What do you mean ‘what’?” It amazed Tsukishima that he had absolutely no tone in his voice at all as he spoke, it was bland, there was nothing, no emotion. “This thing that we had was only money for sex, we both knew it would end one day, I was amazed it even lasted this long. We both can’t be together romantically, and you should start thinking of your future, like your father said. We’re only two years apart in age, but we come from different worlds and different social classes, I don’t think there’s any room in your future or mine for something like this. But you’ll be okay without me, so goodbye, Kuroo.” Tsukishima didn’t mean to word it like that, but the second he opened his mouth, the words just started flowing out, and before he knew it, he couldn’t take anything back. Was that too harsh? That had to be, he didn’t even mean it in that way. He just wanted to say that he knew this would end one day, and for Tsukishima, that day had to be today. And maybe Tsukishima was just being a little immature about this, but if he was able to walk away now, then there would be no problems in the future. And it wasn’t like he liked Kuroo or anything. Those tears running down his face meant absolutely nothing right now.

“Tsukki, I don’t under-“

“It’s better this way, goodbye, Kuroo.” Tsukishima repeated himself as he placed his other hand over top of his mouth, feeling his face heat up in what he assumed was embarrassment or shame. 

He ran his body forward, plowing past Kuroo as he made his way through the opened door and out into the hallway, with nothing but the sounds of the rain from the storm hitting the roof and windows of the building to keep him company for merely a few seconds. He assumed inside Kuroo was confused, trying to figure what just happened, wondering what caused this, and he was probably looking to Akaashi and Bokuto for answers. He could tell all that as his shoes hit the squeaky wet floor and his breath grew heavy from running, now panting as he turned the first corner. He thought about pressing the button to call the elevator, but changed his mind, deciding that the stairs would be a better option, Kuroo wouldn’t expect him to take the stairs, if he did decide to run after him, that is. 

Who knows, maybe it was all true in his head and Kuroo didn’t love him after all. That would have been the best answer, the thing that made this whole situation worth it, so why, why did the thought of Kuroo not doing anything right now, just staying back there with Bokuto and Akaashi piss him off, almost like he wanted Kuroo to run after him, to chase him, but why? He didn’t love Kuroo. So what he did shouldn’t have mattered anymore.

Tsukishima swung the door open to the stairs, it was a small narrow room, with no one else in sight of the navy-blue walls and floor, and dark brown railing next to the stairs. For a moment, he forgot how big this hotel actually is, there had to be at least fifteen to twenty sets of stairs here, far too many for Tsukishima to run all at once, but he was going to try. He didn’t want to see Kuroo anymore, it was better this way, he just had to keep telling himself that. 

Someone who came from wealth, maybe someone who was like Oikawa, would be better for him. What did Kuroo see in an annoying, average college student like him anyways? He should have known that going onto ‘The Lion’s Den’ was a mistake the very moment he heard that no one knew what kind of website it even was to begin with. A big mistake.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo’s voice called, or at least, Tsukishima thought it called, deep down he was hoping it was just all in his head as he turned the first corner after the first flight of stairs, keeping his hand steadily on the railing, as he forced his eyes to look up in the direction he just came from. It wasn’t in his head.

Kuroo stood there, peering down at Tsukishima from one flight above him, he was bent over with his right foot on the first step as he almost lunged himself after Tsukishima. He couldn’t help but notice the look of anguish on his face as he eyed the blonde before running.

“Kuroo, what are you doing here? I just told you that I don’t want to be in this arrangement anymore.” Above all else, Tsukishima was stubborn, to the point where he could probably hold a grudge until the end of time, refusing to say sorry and living the rest of his life mad about some little thing, and this was no exception. He knew deep down that he wanted Kuroo to come after him, to tell him not to go, but at the same time he wanted Kuroo to stay back, to make it clear that he never meant to say that confession that night, to admit all of this was a mistake. He wanted both, but still, he really did like Kuroo.

Tsukishima made his way down the next flight of stairs, trying to steady his feet flat on the ground as he picked up the pace, listening to Kuroo’s words rattling in his ears. “Tsukki, your actions don’t make any sense, what’s this about? Is it about the marriage thing? Because I told my dad no. I don’t want to get married right now.” At times like this Tsukishima was thankful for his long legs, giving him that small extra distance between him and Kuroo as he felt the man slowly and slowly shortening the distance between them. His voice felt like it was only inches away as he refused to turn around. Why was Kuroo even doing this right now?

“Yes, but you will one day, and I won’t be there when that day happens. Now leave me alone.” Tsukishima did the best to keep his voice down, the last thing he wanted was for someone to hear them yelling as they were just passing by. 

His thought process wasn’t exactly clear right now, it was a mess, like it always was around Kuroo. He didn’t want something like this anymore, sure, the sex was great, and he thought he could handle this sort of relationship in the beginning, but he couldn’t anymore. Even if he thought of them as a real couple right now, Tsukishima still couldn’t do it, dating someone like Kuroo was demanding, he had a hard schedule, and Tsukishima wasn’t so sure being with someone like that was in his future, or something that he could even be a part of. Kuroo told him he could end the arrangement at any time, and this was that time.

Was Tsukishima running away? Sort of, though this was different than how it normally happened. Normally Tsukishima didn’t like getting attached to people, Yamaguchi was an exception of course, but the minute someone new weasels their way into his life, he cuts them off, distances himself and runs as far and as fast as he can. He told himself that the only reason he didn’t do that with Kuroo was because he was so desperate for the money that he didn’t care about anything else, though that was partially true. Tsukishima ended up in this situation because of how desperate he was, and now he’s desperate to escape it, going back to being a normal college student, one who doesn’t have to worry about being woken up one day and being told to leave, because the person he’s sleeping with has met someone who he wants more than just as a glorified fuck biddy. Tsukishima didn’t want that day to come, the day when he knew Kuroo would kick him out, so it was better to end things on a high like this, all he had to do was get to the bottom of the stairs and out the door. But why, why did it feel like his legs had stopped moving?

He stopped counting the flights of stairs, but as he stood there on the edge of the step of the next flight, he looked up, realizing it had only been about five flights or so, judging from the distance they were away from the ceiling. His entire body flinched as he felt Kuroo wrap his arms around him from behind, catching up to him and holding him close, he could feel the warmth of Kuroo’s body heat radiating off of the soft material of the suit. It was a feeling that Tsukishima had grown to welcome and look forward to over the past few months. Damn it, why did he have to hold him right now? Why did Tsukishima’s legs have to stop working right now? And why did a few stray tears have to escape from the corner of his eyes right now? He felt so vulnerable, and he hated it, but he also loved it, he loved Kuroo holding him, fighting for him, telling him to stay.

“Tsukki, talk to me, I don’t want any of this. I’m not getting married to anyone, you don’t have to go anywhere. Is that what this was about?” He had a soft tone in his voice, like he was trying to understand Tsukishima but couldn’t, and Tsukishima swore that if he turned around to face him that it would be the end of it, even in times like this, Kuroo still knew how to get his way.

Tsukishima didn’t even know how to go about replying to that, it was part of the reason he was acting this way, but there were other factors. He always did hate yelling, he had only done it a handful of times in his life, and that was only to prove a point, sometimes yelling is necessary. But right now, it wasn’t. Kuroo and him could talk about this calmly, or they could run, he could run. Avoiding people was one of a few things Tsukishima knew how to do well in life, and it wasn’t like this ‘relationship’ wasn’t going to end this way eventually. 

“You will one day though.” Tsukishima’s was back to being bland as he looked down at the plain floor in front of the stairs, his head still felt like it was spinning. “One day you’ll wake up and realize that some twenty-something college kid can’t satisfy you anymore, you said it yourself from the beginning, this whole thing was about sexual urges, you are a man with a really high sex drive and can’t stay in relationships very long because of it. I was just a way to satisfy it for a little while, as well as deal with my money troubles. You told me I can end it whenever I wanted, so I’m ending it. One day you will have to start a family and own your fathers company, I can’t be a part of that, I knew we would have to part someday anyways, it’s better to do it now. I would rather not wake up one day with you kicking me out because you’ve found someone else. It would be bothersome for me.” Was that what Tsukishima wanted to say? That he didn’t want Kuroo to leave him, so he would leave Kuroo? Either way, it still didn’t sound like it did in his head.

Kuroo gasped and you could hear the befuddled sound in his voice, probably as he was thinking over what to say and how to say it. In the beginning, Tsukishima did sort of peg Kuroo as the type of guy who could lose his temper when fighting. He was half expecting him to start yelling about how Tsukishima was being irrational right now, which he was, but what else was he supposed to do, just turn around and tell Kuroo that he’s sorry, and hope that this looming fear in the back of his mind just goes away? That seemed very unlikely.

“Tsukki, is that what you think all of this is? That I’m just fucking with you until… Tsukki, I lo-“ You could tell that Kuroo was stammering to come up with the right words, he was good at provoking people, but he wasn’t good at fighting with people, as well as coming up with the right words in these kinds of situations, that much Tsukishima could tell as he managed to wiggle his way out of Kuroo’s grasp and interrupt him.

“You love me? Is that what you were going to say? Don’t bother, you already told me that night at the party, but I think you’re mistaken, you can’t love me, Kuroo. Now let me go-“ Tsukishima shifted his weight forward, seemingly forgetting that it spent the better part of the last several hours raining outside, and any employee, person, or maintenance worker who came through here with wet shoes was bound to leave a trail.

Tsukishima’s body lunged forward, losing his balance as he reached his hand outward to grab onto the railing, he missed it, and he was sure that he was bound to wake up in a hospital a few hours later from a fall like this. 

“Tsukki!” Kuroo called from behind him, reaching out and grabbing the blonde, pulling him against the wall, more like slamming him against the wall, as Kuroo roughly held him in place and Tsukishima struggled to catch his breath. 

At first, Kuroo sounded gentle, probably in shock and trying to catch Tsukishima from something that may have killed him, but now he was annoyed, pissed off, questioning what brought Tsukishima to the conclusions he was at right now. And Tsukishima felt like a shaking leaf as he eyed Kuroo for the first time tonight, why, why did he have to look him in the eyes, those beautiful eyes that he could get lost in. Tonight wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

“Let me go, Kuroo!” Tsukishima barked out as Kuroo held his arms firmly against the wall, still with that same look on his face. His wrists felt like they were on the verge of breaking as Kuroo held them. He knew he was strong, but like this? What was with him? Did Tsukishima bring this on himself? It was borderline painful as the tears continued to well in his eyes and stream down his face, the only good thing about them was that they were cooling him off.

“Fine.” Kuroo’s tone went down to a bland one that rivaled Tsukishima’s as he let go of the blonde’s wrists. “You want to leave me so much, then go ahead.” Again, what was with him tonight? A tone this harsh was something that Tsukishima never imagined was even possible when coming from Kuroo, his voice was even shaking as he eyed him, and for some reason, Tsukishima still couldn’t move, like his legs were glued to the ground. What was this feeling? Anger? Regret? No, it was something else entirely, something that made Tsukishima want to stay and never want to leave Kuroo’s side. Did they have a word for a feeling like this?

“You can’t, can you?” Kuroo’s voice returned to being the gentle tone before, back when he was chasing after Tsukishima and calling his name only a few moments ago, and for the instant, Tsukishima felt at ease. 

The way Kuroo gently ran his finger over the side of his face and wiped away the tears that were steadily falling down, as he planted a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s forehead felt so calming right now. He couldn’t help but regret his actions tonight, was apologizing the best option? Tsukishima always hated apologizing, it implied that he did something wrong, when he lived his whole life trying to be so careful not to be a bother to anybody. But no, Tsukishima was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a child. Could this mean that Kuroo really liked him?

“Tsukki, I love you, so stay with me a little longer, I don’t know what you heard or what you thought, but I-“ 

Tsukishima didn’t know about how to go about apologizing properly, was he just supposed to blurt out an ‘I’m sorry’ with a serious face? Is that how this sort of thing worked? He had a feeling it didn’t matter with Kuroo, from the look in his eyes, he looked about just as desperate he is. So, he knew that he needed to do something to surprise him. Oikawa mentioned something like this before, and Yamaguchi too, about how Kuroo and Tsukishima were bound to fall for each other. He dismissed it at the time, thinking that it was just his weird friends trying to play matchmaker, but maybe, maybe they were right. If Tsukishima really wanted to leave Kuroo, he had his opportunity to, and he didn’t take it.

All he could do was plant his lips smoothly on Kuroo’s as he struggled to say the words that he was pretty sure he was going to choke on as they rolled off of his tongue. Today had been a really weird day. Maybe it was something Bokuto put in the food, but that still didn’t stop him from speaking. “Kuroo, I love you too.”

 

Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure how it happened, one minute him and Kuroo were lightly kissing each other in the stairway, you wouldn’t exactly call what they were doing ‘making up’, though it was probably the same in most people’s eyes. But the next, Tsukishima was pushed against the wall, feeling Kuroo’s strong, large hands lift him up by his thighs and carry him all the way back to their room. Him still wiping away the tears as he clung onto Kuroo, feeling his heartbeat quicken in an almost comforting way. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is what happiness felt like as he clung on to the bed headed man, smiling as their eyes locked briefly before returning back to their room.

He was happy, it wasn’t hard to do what he had to do, he just told Kuroo how he felt, how every knew he felt. They all had been saying it from the start that the two of them would fall for each other, and maybe they were right. Maybe Tsukishima should have listened to them from the start, it would have saved him a load of trouble and worrying. He really did love Kuroo.

Back inside, Bokuto and Akaashi were nowhere in sight, Tsukishima assumed the obvious that they had retired to their room. How long had they been gone? The rain was still pouring down and it was still night outside so it was hard to tell. Tsukishima thought about saying something, maybe making a joke, though he wasn’t much for jokes, but he decided to be impulsive one more time, leaning forward and claiming another kiss off of Kuroo’s lips, as he opened the door to their room and laid him down on the bed.

Tsukishima took his glasses off and set them down on a nearby nightstand, using this free moment to rub the tears out of his eyes, which were no doubt red from crying. Tsukishima did always consider himself to be a pretty honest person, he never really did understand the point of lying, but tonight he learned that he needed to be more open with Kuroo, like Yamaguchi said, Kuroo wasn’t a mind reader and there was nothing bad about direct communication. At least, not in this situation.

“Kuroo, what does this make us?” He asked one of the questions he had probably been dying to ask over the past several weeks. Was there a term to define a relationship like theirs right now? Somewhere in-between paid fuck buddies and lovers? Tsukishima almost felt shameful thinking about that, as he watched Kuroo take off one of Tsukishima’s shoes, he hovered over him on top of the bed, which wasn’t quite as comfortable as the one back in Kuroo’s penthouse, but he slowly began kissing along the blonde’s jawline, making Tsukishima smile as he rolled his head back onto the soft white pillow.

“Boyfriends, silly.” Kuroo teased him, planting a warm kiss on top of his forehead as he rid himself of his shirt, showing off his perfect abs as he grabbed Tsukishima’s hands, like he was goading him to touch him, which Tsukishima did willingly. “We’re just like Bokuto and Akaashi now. I really do like you, Tsukki.” Tsukishima was almost forced to recall back to the day he first met Bokuto, Akaashi, and Oikawa, when Bokuto said something along the lines of ‘are you going to be just like me and Akaashi now?’, at first Tsukishima dismissed it as just Bokuto just being way too hyper and eager, but maybe there was something to what he said after all.

“You don’t have to keep telling me that, I know. You’re far too sentimental tonight.” Tsukishima averted his eyes slightly, looking over to the side as he forced himself to hold back a smile.

“Hey, is that anyway to talk to the person who just saved you from getting a concussion?” Kuroo teased him one more time. “But you’re really chatty tonight, Tsukki. I like this side of you, you should talk more, your voice is so cute. Now, let’s get the rest of these off.” Kuroo used one of his hands to run down Tsukishima’s chest, sending a cold shiver throughout his body as he arched his back and looked back at him, Kuroo tugged at the hem on the blonde’s pants as he swiftly returned to kissing him, his lips had that same aggressive passion that Tsukishima was used to.

They fell into, what Tsukishima considered to be their ‘nightly routine’, every night they would find themselves in a similar position on the giant bed in Kuroo’s penthouse, sometimes they would switch roles, but tonight, it was Tsukishima who found himself lying comfortably on his backside, with Kuroo over him as they both ran their fingers up and down each other’s bodies. Kuroo felt so warm as Tsukishima touched him, and he was having a hard time hiding that look of satisfaction on his face as Kuroo kissed him, draping his legs over Kuroo’s shoulders as the bedhead ran his fingers over his thighs like he always did, being gentle, but still knowing the exact spots to hit to get the blonde to quiver and melt under his touch.

“Kuroo-“ It didn’t take long for Tsukishima’s legs and entire lower half to start shaking as he curled his fingers against the sheets, his breath turned into a whisper as Kuroo smirked at him, sending a slow kiss down his chest. He always did like giving Tsukishima that look, that look that said no one else could make him feel the way he did. He had a weird look of pride of his face when he did it. His hands were cold more than anything else, not helping Tsukishima at all in the situation he was in, not that he ever wanted to stop anytime soon. It always felt great when he did it with Kuroo, he loved it, and he loved him.

“Tsukki, I missed you, I missed doing this with you.” Kuroo cooed in Tsukishima’s ear, making his way up and lightly biting down on that open space between his neck and his shoulder, his tongue licking over the tender skin there as he placed a hand on Kuroo’s shoulder, digging his nails in as he tried to steady himself under his touch.

“Huh?” Tsukishima looked up at Kuroo in confusion, wondering why he would say such a thing. “It’s only been about six hours.” Why was Kuroo talking like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks or months? All that happened was that Kuroo left to go to a meeting, Tsukishima decided to be irrational, and now they were here, having sex like they did just about every night since Tsukishima had met Kuroo. nothing had changed between them, right? Well, that’s not true, everything had changed now, Kuroo and Tsukishima were no longer in any sort of ‘arrangement’, they were dating, if that’s what you want to call it. And Tsukishima found himself surprisingly being okay with that. It looks like both Bokuto and Oikawa were right, he really did like Kuroo.

“I know, but I was worried back there, I thought you were going to leave me.” Kuroo reached over and grabbed one of Tsukishima’s hands, holding it as he kissed it and lightly rubbed it against his face. Kuroo’s skin was smooth and slightly wet, probably from the rain outside. It felt like Tsukishima could feel everything as touched Kuroo, his skin and hair was so soft and his lips were so smooth as he kissed him. Tsukishima had felt this many times before, but he never noticed it until today, he never admired it until today, he never fully appreciated it until today.

“Why would you be worried about something like that?” Tsukishima scowled, all of Kuroo’s actions today seemed so weird for him. Had he been drinking? He always gets so weird when he drinks. But no, that wasn’t it, normally you would have been able to smell the alcohol on him. Kuroo was like a love-struck kitten right now, with a face of pure pleasure and happiness as he kissed Tsukishima for another time. And in this moment, Tsukishima couldn’t deny just how cute he thought Kuroo was. He was changing, and Kuroo was changing him. Ugh, it almost pissed him off at how soft he had become since meeting the bedhead those some off weeks ago. Even he was starting to become just as mushy as he was.

“Why? Because I’m crazy about you, Tsukki. I love you.” Kuroo smiled at him, repeating those words that Tsukishima had already heard, and it felt like it was something heartfelt and meaningful. Could someone actually say something that serious right before they were about to fuck you? His words didn’t seem to fit the mood in the room at all. But then again, Kuroo was oddly romantic so maybe everything fit perfectly.

“Can you please stop saying that? You’re creepy when you’re being all emotional.” Tsukishima turned his head to the side again, determined not to lock eyes with the bedhead again, until he was interrupted by the feeling of Kuroo kissing his way down his chest and stomach, holding the blonde down in place as he was sure to leave plenty of bites as he gave him that usual provoking smirk. He could feel his chin resting on his chest, giving him a tempting smile, like he was asking Tsukishima ‘where shall I kiss you first?’. A very familiar chill ran through his body as his mind ran wild with possibilities, and he thought would it be so wrong to tell Kuroo how much he was enjoying this right now? How much he wanted to touch him and where he wanted him to touch him? Would that change the mood at all?

“You’re so cold, can’t you tell your boyfriend that you love him, too?” Like always, Kuroo knew exactly what to do to get his way, moving one hand and rubbing the back of Tsukishima’s leg, getting him to now barely be able to utter a single word, well, outside of the incoherent moans and mumbles that were already coming out of the blonde. Kuroo lightly dug his nails into his skin, and Tsukishima was certain he wouldn’t be able to ever move again if he kept this up. He had to bite down on his lower lip just to control himself.

“Maybe if my boyfriend wasn’t so provoking, then I wouldn’t have such a hard time making a confession.” Tsukishima turned his head back and locked eyes with Kuroo, glinting them as he kept biting down on his lip and tried to tease his now boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Tsukishima always hated that term, he was never really fond of labels like that in relationships. But when he thought about it before, in the best possible outcome that Kuroo and him would be like this, he figured he would have a much harder time welcoming the word. Maybe it was just because the type of ‘relationship’ they had prior to this was pretty much dating. They lived together, ate together, slept together, had sex, and Kuroo and him would go out shopping, which would be considered by most normal people as ‘dates’, any way you look at it, they were pretty much already dating. Hell, Tsukishima probably knew more about Kuroo than he did anyone else, other than Yamaguchi, even if you don’t communicate very much with someone, you can’t help but learn things about them if you live with them. Within the first week of living with Kuroo, Tsukishima already learned his day to day life pattern, what time he woke up, his work schedule, how he slept, the kinds of foods he liked to eat, even the way Kuroo liked to watch TV right after eating dinner every night. And he was sure that Kuroo picked up on just as many things about him as well.

“Okay, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed again, leaning in close so his mouth was right next to Tsukishima’s ear. “I’ll make you proclaim the best confession of them all.” It almost felt like it was a challenge for Kuroo, the way he was always provoking Tsukishima, and now kissing him like he knew exactly what to do to get his way. 

Kuroo pinched down on Tsukishima’s inner thigh, succeeding in getting an unexpected moan to come out of the blonde, the biting down he was doing on his lip clearly wasn’t working, Kuroo smirking in contentment at the response, and he knew exactly the effect that his nails and tongue had on Tsukishima as he started running his nails down his legs and kissing his neck.

By now the two of them had gotten rid of all of their clothes, and Tsukishima knew his face was a shade of bright red from embarrassment and pleasure. Why did Kuroo always have this effect on him? It was like his whole body was practically begging for him, begging to feel him. He loved touching him and being touched by him, the kissing was always great, and the way they teased each other was enjoyable for both of them, but Tsukishima wanted more, he needed more, he wanted more of Kuroo.

“Kuroo-“ Tsukishima breathed out, arching his back to the touch as he struggled to keep himself composed, though he knew very well that that was going to be hard to do, there was very little control he had over himself when him Kuroo and him got like this.

“Yes, what is it, Tsukki?” Kuroo was a tease, and a damn good one at it too, he started tracing his index finger in a messy line down Tsukishima’s bare chest, in a manner that he always did, trying to coax the blonde into saying what he wanted him to say, and Tsukishima felt himself become more than happy to say it. 

“Fuck, I love you.” Tsukishima hated feeling vulnerable like this, that’s how he felt through the whole night so far, and the way Kuroo smirked down while looking at him did absolutely nothing for the feeling of embarrassment that was welling up inside of him right now.

“Tsukki, I really can’t take you when you’re being this cute and open.” Kuroo kissed his forehead again lightly “Let’s have sex.”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.” Tsukishima’s tone dropped back down to that bland one he had normally, he reached his hand up and ran his fingers through Kuroo’s hair.

Tsukishima looked at him for a moment, as he felt the softness in his hand, he knew that going on this weekend trip with Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi would probably be an adventure, and it was something that Oikawa had warned him about, but he never thought it would turn out like this. He was happy, for lack of a better word, it was a feeling Tsukishima wasn’t used to very often, but there was no doubt that being with Kuroo like this wasn’t a mistake at all, and neither was joining ‘The Lion’s Den’ those few weeks ago. They were no longer sugar daddy and sugar baby anymore, they were boyfriends.

Tsukishima watched as Kuroo pulled out a condom and the usual small bottle he was used to seeing. He didn’t even have to think about what it was anymore, or what he should do, his body always did have a habit of acting on its own now. 

He let Kuroo slide on the condom as he placed his legs over Kuroo’s shoulders, he had a smirk on his face that told Tsukishima that he wanted to do it in this position tonight, and he was in such a good mood that he was willing to let him. 

Kuroo had a certain routine of how he liked to tease Tsukishima before doing this kind of thing every night. He always likes him to tell him to do it, driving him mad with how good at teasing him he was. But tonight, it was different, Kuroo kept one hand placed rubbing on Tsukishima’s thigh, and he had a sharp look in his eyes as he squinted, and Tsukishima tried to control his voice as his body overcame with pleasure. Kuroo was never the gentle type when doing something like this, and he liked it that way. Ugh, he really had become some weird sex perverted sex maniac thanks to being with him.

“Tsukki, is something wrong? You’re smiling a lot tonight.” Kuroo spoke as he bent down to get closer to Tsukishima, keeping his head close as Tsukishima’s body remained quivering. And right now, Tsukishima had the mind to yell at him and tell him not to ask questions like this while they were fucking.

“It’s nothing.” Tsukishima groaned out subtly, he tried not to look at Kuroo’s face right now as he answered him. “I just remembered a deal I made with Oikawa the other day.”

“Oh really? What was it?” Kuroo coaxed him in the usual flirty manner, like he was trying to distract him from what he was actually doing.

Tsukishima smiled to himself, feeling that sexually demanding side of him starting to take over. “It’s not important right now. Now hurry up and take me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we finally have the long awaited Tsukki's confession chapter, I always feel like I'm terrible at writing fight scenes, but here it is, I hope you enjoy it. I also wrote a little bit more sexual stuff for this chapter, since I realized I haven't wrote anything like that for this story in awhile, haha. Next chapter will be the next day, with Tsukki and Kuroo waking up together, and I'll be adding a little bit more Bokuto and Akaashi in there too, since I feel like I haven't had much of them in this story yet. :)


	13. What Happens Next

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima and Kuroo wake up after the events of the previous night, and Tsukishima has a conversation with Akaashi as he comes face to face with some doubts he has been keeping.

Tsukishima could feel the morning pressure on his eyes, feeling heavy, squinting and struggling to open them up as he could sense the sunlight pouring in through the blinds of the window behind him. It was too early to be up, way too early, he knew that much already, but that was the thing about when you’ve woken up like this, it was nearly impossible to fall back asleep. The sunlight was destructive, and he was certain that he would feel blinded the moment he opened his eyes. It was just like he was back at that crappy student apartment for school, only this time with a more comfortable bed.

Underneath him, he could feel the messy sheets and bedspread as he struggled to remember every detail about what had happened last night. That’s right, he remembered him and Kuroo ‘made up’ so to speak, though what really happened was that Tsukishima was being irrational and they no longer were in an arrangement, they were normal, a normal couple, like Bokuto and Akaashi. And he didn’t need to look to know that Kuroo was pleasantly asleep next to him. Though, he could tell that much from his snoring, and from the fact that his pillow was missing, yet again. Kuroo always had a habit of doing this whenever he fell asleep. Seriously, they both really needed to make it a priority to buy more pillows sometime.

Tsukishima forced his eyes opened and forced himself to sit up on the bed, looking over at Kuroo sleeping as he put on his glasses. He needed to clean them, they were starting to become too dirty, to the point where there was a big smudge in the middle of the left lens that was making it hard to see. But, that didn’t stop him from still looking at Kuroo. He thought briefly that this must be what it feels like to be in a new relationship, happy, like no problem existed for you anymore, it was almost alarming that it was the first time Tsukishima had felt this way, but he knew that any worries he had now would just end with a repeat of what happened last night. He really was just being irrational.

Tsukishima quietly made his way over to the suitcase he bought, unzipping it and pulling out a baggy black shirt and some sweatpants, ones Kuroo bought for him not too long ago, and slipped them on. He figured Kuroo was probably tired from the meeting yesterday and needed some sleep. He thought about how it must be hard to work for a business company like this, let alone when your father owns half the company. How did Kuroo do it? That in itself deserved to be admired, Tsukishima was already having a hard time keeping up with his school work. He still missed several days, sometimes for days on end, and yet here was Kuroo, probably doing just as badly as he was going to meetings.

Thinking about it somehow made him feel less annoyed, as Tsukishima walked his way out of the room at a quiet enough pace to not wake Kuroo up. He thought he was probably the only one up right now, the clock on the wall read 8:47, even on weekends his brain was still programmed to get up early for school, he thought he would just make some morning coffee or tea and turn on the TV and wait for everyone else. He thought that Bokuto would probably be up soon anyway.

Upon walking out of the room, his nose was greeted with the sweet scent of pancake batter. Ah, that’s right, he did promise Bokuto to help him make breakfast today, even if he did sort of rope him into it. He could clearly see Bokuto working away in the kitchen area of the apartment, as Akaashi stood close by, watching him, they both had a pleasant look on their faces as they locked onto Tsukishima.

“Tsukki, good morning.” Bokuto hummed out, grinning. He was wearing a baggy light blue shirt that surprisingly hid his muscles, and no pants, just a pair of black boxers, that thankfully, were mostly hidden thanks to the baggy shirt. Did he have no shame? Well, from what he knew of him, that did sound like something he would do.

“Good morning, Tsukishima.” Akaashi had a pleasant voice, like always. He gave a smile as he sat at the nearby dining table, resting his hand on his chin as he wore a gray tank top, showing off what little muscle definition he had, though, it was still better than Tsukishima’s. He also had on black shorts that came about knee length on him, and his hair slightly messier than normal. It almost felt strange to not see him in a suit.

“Good morning.” Tsukishima yawned and his words sounded more incoherent than anything else. Were these two morning people?

“Did you sleep well?” Akaashi spoke, making small conversation as he slid Tsukishima a cup of coffee from across the table. Tsukishima noted that he titled his head to the side as he took a sip, smiling at Bokuto. 

“Yeah, I guess. Do you two always get up this early?” The coffee felt a little warm against his tongue, but it was nothing that was unmanageable, it was delicious either way, and just what he needed to wake himself up.

“Usually not, but Bokuto was awake, and he likes to cook for me in the mornings, so I came out here to keep him company.”

“I see.” Tsukishima looked down at the table, he was never good at making small talk, and it wasn’t like he could come up with anything to say to Akaashi while Kuroo was still sleeping. Plus, he already guessed that Bokuto told him all about their conversation yesterday, he figured that if Akaashi had anything to say, then he would just add to it as he pleases. He didn’t need to pry about anything right now.

“Tsukki, congratulations!” Bokuto beamed as he turned his head to look at Tsukishima, seeming to perk up the subtle somber mood that was happening.

“Huh? For what?” Tsukishima looked at Bokuto in confusion, he was used to giving the owl obsessed man a look like that. A lot of things Bokuto said really didn’t make sense. What was he about this time?

“Don’t play naïve, Tsukki, you and Kuroo got together last night, romantically. See, I told you it would happen.” The little kid side of Bokuto was showing again, the one that made him seem almost like a toddler, he even put emphasis on the word ‘romantically’, he was so unmanageable like this.

“How do you even know about that? When we got back last night you two were already in your room?” Tsukishima hated having attention on him, in some ways he was thankful they didn’t have an audience when they returned from their ‘make up’ in the stairway. Akaashi seemed pretty respectful and quiet, but Bokuto, he was something entirely different.

“We were, but these walls are paper thin, you know? Even in a decent hotel like this. I know, we should celebrate my making a cake for dessert tonight.”

“Bokuto, that’s-“ You could feel the subtle embarrassment in Akaashi’s voice as he struggled to keep his boyfriend under control. His face was a subtle shade of red and he had a slight laugh about him as he spoke.

“You really don’t have to.” Tsukishima added, it was clear that him and Akaashi were on the same page when it came to this, but it seemed like nothing was stopping Bokuto and the high-spirited mood he was in right now. 

“Nonsense. We should celebrate and it’s Keiji’s favorite.”

“Keiji?” Tsukishima blinked his eyes a few times, that was a name he had never heard before, but it almost had a familiar ring to it, like he should have known who Bokuto was talking about.

“Ah, sorry about that, Tsukishima. Keiji is my first name, Bokuto doesn’t really call me that when we’re not in the bedroom, but he seems to be in an exceptionally good mood today.” Akaashi gave a friendly smile as a light bulb went off in Tsukishima’s head. That’s right, that’s where he had heard that name before, he just wasn’t used to hearing it. Well, outside of when Kuroo was trying to be provoking, nobody called him ‘Kei’ either, so it was understandable. 

“It’s no problem, I just wasn’t used to it.” It felt like there was almost a serious mood in the room while Tsukishima and Akaashi talked, and Bokuto cooked. Well, it only made sense, Akaashi and Tsukishima were the serious ones, and Bokuto and Kuroo were the children trapped in adults’ bodies, they balanced each other out, and that was evident from just watching Bokuto and Akaashi’s relationship. It was almost sickening to watch, in a good way, and Tsukishima wondered that if in a year from now or so, that that would be him and Kuroo.

“Say, Tsukishima.” Akaashi spoke again as Tsukishima took another sip of coffee. “If you need to ask me anything, about Kuroo or whatever, you can. I’ve probably known him the longest, and since me and him work together, I can answer just about anything.” Akaashi was a lot easier to read than Kuroo was, maybe that was just because him and Tsukishima were a bit alike, they were both pretty reserved and always observing, and he was honest when he spoke, you knew exactly what he meant whenever he said anything, it was a nice change.

“Yeah!” Bokuto yelled, almost startling Tsukishima as he was deep in thought. “I can always beat him up for you too, I’m all ears.” Bokuto flexed his muscles and both Akaashi and Tsukishima gave him a look that questioned what he was talking about and what he was doing. Though Akaashi’s look did have a subtle smirk to it.

“Uh… thanks, I think?” Tsukishima wasn’t sure if Bokuto was trying to help or not, but he did presume his advice, if you can call it that, from yesterday did help him in some way, and it wasn’t like he had a reason to not ask them for advice like this when he had an opportunity to. For the most part, he trusted them and considered them his friends.

“Say, Akaashi. Is me and Kuroo being together going to pose as a problem for Kuroo’s dad and the company?” Out of all the concerns Tsukishima had in his mind, that was the one that came to mind. He had now come to terms with fully liking Kuroo, and he didn’t want to be bothersome for him and his career. That was the thing about yesterday, if Kuroo had to choose between Tsukishima and the company, then Tsukishima wanted him to choose the company. Tsukishima still considered the two of them to be worlds apart.

“You should be fine, his dad’s not as bad as mine was. He was probably just worried about his son and didn’t want him not thinking of the future.”

“But wouldn’t it be problematic, though. Kuroo and I are both male, and I can’t-“ Tsukishima didn’t know where he was going with this, but once he opened his mouth, all of the thoughts in his mind just came pouring out. 

Even if they lived happily together, him and Kuroo could never have a ‘normal’ relationship, not in the traditional sense anyways. They could never have children, and if Kuroo was going to take over the company one day, that was probably something that his family thought was important. Why was Tsukishima even thinking about something like this right now? He was twenty-one and Kuroo was twenty-three, they had years before they could think about something like that, so why was it on his mind right now?

“Tsukishima.” Akaashi was pacifying as he listened to him speak. “Kuroo doesn’t care about something like that, he loves you, and Kuroo-“

“Morning, I overslept.” A sleepy voiced, familiar yawn echoed from the other side of the room, you could hear the sound of the door to the main bedroom opening as footsteps came out into the kitchen. Tsukishima didn’t have to look up to know that it was Kuroo, not that he was expecting it to be anyone else. “What were you guys talking about?” He smirked, there was a mischievous tone in his voice while listening to Akaashi brusquely cutting off his sentence. How much of that did he hear? Tsukishima could feel his face turn bright red as he deterred his eyes with Kuroo, and a twinge of embarrassment overcame him, as he frantically hoped he did not hear any of their conversation.

“Nothing, just that Bokuto wants to make a cake tonight to celebrate you two being together.” Akaashi spoke softly, and he was thankful that Akaashi was quick on his feet, so to speak, he was not only respectful and smart, but he was also good at coming up with things to say on the spot, he was quite impressive.

“Ah, Bo, you don’t have to do that, I’m happy enough just being with Tsukki.” How could Kuroo be this mushy this early in the morning? His voice sounded overly sweet and nice as he made himself a cup of coffee, and placed a hand on top of Tsukishima’s head, leaning down and kissing him from the table. Kuroo was taller than him right now because he was standing up and Tsukishima was sitting. 

“Don’t worry about it, dude! I found this new recipe for plating chocolate that I wanted to try.” Bokuto stuck out his tongue as he gave a thumbs up in Kuroo’s direction, he did seem to be in an overly good mood today. “Plus.” He stepped away from the stove, walking over to where Kuroo and Tsukishima were, wrapping his arms around them in a friendly manner. “Now that you and Tsukki are a couple, we can go on a lot more double dates now. Hey Tsukki, how about during the day while Kuroo is off at work that you come over to mine and Akaashi’s place? We can work out and cook together while our boys are away, we need to build your muscle definition, and-“

“Bokuto, that’s a bit…” Akaashi interrupted him as he trailed off, he had an apologetic look in his eyes once again as he looked at Tsukishima. “Sorry, Tsukishima. He gets a bit excited from time to time.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Tsukishima spoke softly as Bokuto returned back to the stove, it was almost astonishing at how energetic everyone was today, even Akaashi seemed to be giving off a more happy mood than usual.

“Our first meeting doesn’t start until noon today, so we should be fine on time.” Kuroo spoke as he took a sip of coffee and spoke for the first time in several minutes. 

Tsukishima brought himself to look up at him, and in his mind, he wanted to ask ‘what happens next?’, this seemed like the point in the cliché movies where the story would end, roll credits. Was he just supposed to live the rest of his life happy with Kuroo? Maybe eventually get the courage to come out to his family and introduce Kuroo to them, he still didn’t know what he wanted to do after college, let alone having any idea about what he wanted to do with his personal life. What was he supposed to do now?

It would be hard to imagine that things would turn out this well, but in the best-case scenario, him and Kuroo would live a happy life together, where he would become like Bokuto, and serve the ‘housewife’ position, though, Tsukishima had a hard time imagining himself doing the things that Bokuto did. He couldn’t cook, and though he was one for organization, he didn’t think that a ‘housewife’ role would fit him well at all. The idea of welcoming Kuroo home with a smile on his face and a fresh meal on the table sounded like a big no-go for him.

In another best-case scenario, he would end up working with Kuroo, or at least working somewhere within the company. He knew Kuroo joked about it before at that one party they went to, about giving him a job or an internship, but what else was he really supposed to do after college? It was the time when all of the counselors were pressuring the undecided ones about what they wanted to do with their future, and Tsukishima managed to dodge the question every time, but even he didn’t know what he wanted to do with himself anymore. He thought about if it was too late to change his major, maybe it was a better idea to help himself out now if he did end up working with or for Kuroo in the future. Would Kuroo’s father even be okay with that? Right now, it wasn’t so much about gender as it was about social classes. Would Kuroo’s parents even see Tsukishima as someone who was good enough in their eyes? It was mentioned before that rich families like this have a sort of aesthetic they like to keep up with, so was Tsukishima even good enough for that?

Tsukishima could see out of the corner of his eye, Kuroo sitting down next to him as Bokuto piled some food onto a plate, already he could tell that it was too much food for him to eat in an entire day, let alone for just one meal. Bokuto said that they needed to work on his muscle definition, but maybe they needed to work on giving Tsukishima a bigger stomach instead. If he could even eat half of this it would be a miracle.

From next to him, Tsukishima could feel Kuroo interlock their fingers together, sitting so close to the point where their thighs were touching, and he felt a twinge of warmth as he leaned into him subconsciously. He really shouldn’t be worrying about a thing like meeting Kuroo’s parents right now, after what they just went through last night, Tsukishima was certain that if Kuroo knew what he was thinking, he would reassure him again, telling him that he didn’t need to worry about something like that right now. And from what both Akaashi and Bokuto said earlier, he really didn’t have anything to worry about.

Tsukishima felt himself squeeze onto Kuroo’s hand, as if he was telling himself it was going to be okay, and to his surprise, Kuroo squeezed back, smiling at him and planting another soft kiss on his forehead.

“Ugh.” Kuroo groaned, he had a rough tone in his voice, like he still wasn’t fully awake yet, and Tsukishima thought about how he really wanted to kiss Kuroo right now, there was something about the way a person’s voice sounds sexier if they haven’t woken up. “Why do we have to have meetings in person? Why can’t we just use Skype like every other time? I would rather spend all weekend with Tsukki.” Kuroo leaned over, leaning his head on Tsukishima’s shoulder as he looked up at the blonde, and Tsukishima knew for a fact that Akaashi was smiling at him from across the table. He had a pleased look in his eyes, one that said he was getting enjoyment out of just watching the way Kuroo looked at Tsukishima, and the way Tsukishima subtly looked back at Kuroo. He was enjoying this.

As if it was a way to reassure Kuroo, Tsukishima was the one to lightly squeeze his hand. He wasn’t sure what exactly about their relationship had changed since yesterday, they still lived, ate, and slept together, but Tsukishima knew that he needed to be more open and affectionate now, and outside of saying something snarky or speaking words of comfort, he decided to go for a more subtle approach. He figured Kuroo would appreciate it either way. He was starting to feel that maybe he should have used that moment a few minutes ago to ask Akaashi what are some things Kuroo liked, little things he could do for him to make him smile. 

Kuroo seemed to take notice of it almost instantly, bringing his hand up to his mouth and lightly kissing Tsukishima’s fingers, his breath was warm and his lips were slightly greasy from the food, but it was still welcomed as Tsukishima turned to him and smiled. He found that he was smiling a lot lately.

“And on top of that it’s supposed to rain all weekend, so we can’t go sightseeing.” Akaashi looked down at his plate, and then vaguely back up at Tsukishima. It was the smallest glance that most people wouldn’t have noticed, but Tsukishima did. He nodded to him, like he was trying to signal something to the blonde, almost like he was trying to do him a favor. 

 

“You’re going to get in so much trouble, you know?” It was all Tsukishima could do but laugh at Kuroo’s poor attempt at running away from everything. Did he really just spend all day with Tsukishima lying on the couch, instead of going to his meetings? What was wrong with him? Well, it wasn’t so much what was wrong with him, but what was wrong with everybody?

After they ate their morning breakfast that Bokuto made, Akaashi let it slip that he wouldn’t mind going into the meetings today without Kuroo, saying that ‘he could just consider it a favor that he owed him’, while saying it, he gave a subtle smirk over to Tsukishima, like he was implying something. Of course, Tsukishima knew exactly what he was implying. The way Akaashi talked, it almost made it sound like he was rooting for Tsukishima and Kuroo, like he wanted them to be alone together today, and not worry or think about anything. And deep down, that’s probably what Kuroo wanted to, as well as Tsukishima.

He wasn’t sure where the day went, once Akaashi left for the meetings, and Bokuto retired to his room, saying he was going to take a nap before starting on dinner, Kuroo and Tsukishima spent the whole day on that leather couch, watching TV and sharing kisses. It was nice, it made Tsukishima wonder if this was what being in a normal relationship was like. Tsukishima was always one to not talk about his problems and feelings, mainly because he felt like they were always a bother to others, but maybe he could actually open up a bit more around Kuroo, just like how Yamaguchi said.

Right now, it was well past nightfall, Akaashi had already returned from the meetings, telling Kuroo his father already left to go on another business trip somewhere, and informing him on everything that he missed. It was all Greek to Tsukishima, but he still tried to remain attentive and listen in on the conversation. It wasn’t like him and Kuroo were complete strangers, but he wanted to learn anything and everything he could about him now, like there was this new desire in him that wanted more Kuroo. it was almost sickening at how much he welcomed that feeling.

After that they ate dinner, Bokuto wanted to make tacos tonight for some reason, so he did, and everyone had a slice of some strawberry cake for dessert, he tried out that new recipe for some plating chocolate, but that back fired on him, so he just settled for adding more strawberries on the cake. Tsukishima could only eat half a slice of it though, with both Bokuto and Kuroo chastising him, saying that he needed to eat more and that they both were afraid he would pass out. It was such a silly worry, he wasn’t going to pass out, he just rarely had an appetite for such things. They were seriously acting like a bunch of moms right now. But for reason, he couldn’t bring himself to scowl at them as they made a fuss over him. Why? What really had changed since yesterday?

The evening came and went, and Bokuto and Akaashi retired to their room, a loud, detestable snoring sound could be heard coming from their closed door, and Tsukishima was more than certain it was Bokuto, he seemed like the type who would snore. Honestly, how did Akaashi get any sleep with that noise? It was driving him nuts and he was more than several feet away.

“It’s probably fine, probably.” Kuroo lightly nudged Tsukishima in the side as the two sat on the couch, still both in their sweats that they didn’t change out of today at all. Tsukishima didn’t know what to do with himself now that him and Kuroo were technically ‘together’. He wondered if it was okay to reach out and hold Kuroo’s hand, if it was okay to cuddle with him and kiss him. Was there really anything that made their relationship different now? And wasn’t there some other hurdle they needed to overcome in order for their relationship to be okay? “Are you worrying about me, Kei-chan?” Kuroo added on to the end of his sentence as he turned towards Tsukishima, the TV they were watching was now settled on the nightly news, not that there was anything on this late at night, that was always one of the big complaints Bokuto had whenever he would turn on the TV.

“Hardly.” Tsukishima scoffed and smirked to himself. “I just don’t want you to be out of a job and – wait, what did you call me?” He was almost surprised to hear the unfamiliar nickname coming off of the bedhead’s tongue. He was used to him and Kuroo saying each other’s first names sarcastically, like that one time he said he would rather call Kuroo ‘Tetsurou’ instead of ‘daddy’, he meant it as a joke and nothing more, and sometimes Kuroo would call him ‘Kei’ just to provoke him and get under his skin. But this was different, he had a sentimental and serious tone in his voice as he spoke it, he was teasing him, but at the same time he wasn’t provoking him, not nearly as much, at least.

“Kei-chan.” He repeated that name again, and Tsukishima listened closely as it just rolled off of his tongue, their faces were only a few inches apart as they sat next to each other, and the room was almost completely dark from the outside, except for the feint ceiling light above them. “I figured since we’re no longer, well, you know. I figured we could give each other cute nicknames.” Since when did Kuroo become the overly mushy, lovey-dovey type? In all the time over the past several weeks and months that Tsukishima had spent with him, he never led on that he was this type of person. What was going on? “If you want, you can call me Tet-chan?” He smirked, and by this point Tsukishima knew that Kuroo was just being an asshole, trying to provoke him on purpose now.

He got up off the couch and started walking into the kitchen, hearing Kuroo following not too far behind him, seeming to by in to his provoking personality. “Here’s a nickname for you; pain in the ass.” Tsukishima meant it sarcastically as he almost groaned as Kuroo wrapped his arms around him from behind, his touch was warm as he planted kisses along the blonde’s neck. He could actually think of several nicknames for the bedhead, none of which he had the confidence to tell him right now, of course. But maybe one day they could feel like that overly lovey-dovey couple who are so disgustingly cute, like Bokuto and Akaashi. 

Was Tsukishima happy right now? Yes. But being happy is what alarmed him the most, because he knew it would get taken away sooner or later, because truth be told, they still did have one impassable hurdle, his family. A lot like Oikawa was going to have to tell Iwaizumi, he was going to have to tell his family about Kuroo, eventually.

“You mean guy that’s going to fuck you in the ass.” Kuroo slid his hands down to Tsukishima’s stomach, distracting him from his thoughts as he tried his best not to laugh as Kuroo held him. He thought about retorting, saying ‘what makes you think you’ll be the one who is topping tonight?’, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Maybe it was just because Tsukishima was in too much of a good mood right now, it was a rare feeling for him. Or maybe it was because he liked the way he felt right now, the way Kuroo held him and touched him, and he didn’t want to change that.

“I’m going to slap you.” This time he did let a small laugh escape him as he turned his head slightly to face Kuroo, who had one of those stupid smirks plastered on his face as he looked at the blonde.

“Slap me on my mouth with your mouth? Or slap other parts of me with your mouth?” He didn’t even try to hide the perverse tone in his voice as he spoke.

“Oh my god, I can’t even deal with you right now.” There was a lack of seriousness in his voice as he spoke, one that definitely said he was having a good time.

“Then deal with this, Tsukki.” Tsukishima was almost relieved to hear Kuroo calling him what he usually called him, not giving his brain time to adjust as he planted his lips onto the blondes’, he moved one of his hands up and held Tsukishima’s face steady as he touched his chin, their tongues almost felt like they were dancing over each other as they touched. 

Kissing him like this reminded him that Kuroo was such a sensual kisser. Sometimes Tsukishima would still think about the day they met, out of all of the people who could have seen his application, it had to be Kuroo, it had to be the guy that he had fallen in love with, it just had to be, and he was sure that Kuroo felt the same way.

“Oh, by the way.” Kuroo spoke as he abruptly cut off their lips, as if he just remembered something he wanted to say, and Tsukishima struggled to catch his breath from lack of contact as he listened to him. “What was that thing that you and Akaashi were talking about this morning?” He kept his hand on Tsukishima’s chin as he pried into the blonde.

“Oh that, it was nothing.” Over the past few years Tsukishima got really good at dodging questions, so much so that he was confident he could convince Kuroo that it actually was nothing, which it actually was, it wasn’t like Akaashi ever got to finish his thought anyway. “It was just small talk, he was happy that we are together now and was giving me some advice.” He didn’t mean to say that last part, but once again, when he opened his mouth, all the words that he didn’t even think about saying started to come flooding out.

“Is that so?” Kuroo smirked, satisfied with that answer as he let go of Tsukishima and made his way further into the kitchen. “Why don’t you tell me all about it as I get us another slice of cake.” Tsukishima watched closely as he followed behind him, watching him cut them two more slices of cake. Honestly, Bokuto ate more cake than the two of them combined, it was amazing how big his stomach was. Though, he did remember him complaining about a stomach ache not too long after.

“It was nothing, really.” Tsukishima shrugged as his eyes began to wonder. 

Would it really be so hard to tell him he was just worried that the two of them being together would cause problems for his family? It was honestly a pretty easy worry to comprehend. Don’t most people have this thought process when they’re dating someone outside of their social class? Or at least, that’s what Tsukishima thought. Would it be okay to bring up something like this? Akaashi said it wasn’t anything to worry about, but Tsukishima still had his doubts.

“Oh, by the way.” Tsukishima tried to change the subject, to the best of his ability, he still didn’t classify himself as someone who was good at steering a conversation. “When is your birthday? I know that you mentioned it was coming up, so I thought I should give you a gift.” Was it completely obvious that Tsukishima was trying to avoid the previous topic? Because that’s what he felt like right now. Some mild curiosity mixed with shame as Kuroo handed him a plate and a fork, and the two of them sat down at the dining table, it was almost too quiet as Tsukishima picked the strawberry off with his fork and ate it. 

“Oh, what’s this? You actually want to get me a gift, Tsukki? I really like how sentimental you’re being today.” He smirked, taking a bite as he smiled at Tsukishima, his eyes had that impassioned look to them.

“Actually, I think that would be you.” Tsukishima smirked back as forced a bite of the cake down. Maybe it was just because they were talking, but he felt like he didn’t have much of an appetite right now. “We’re dating now, so I think we should learn everything about each other.” And this was Tsukishima’s attempt at being romantic, he wasn’t very good at it, and outside of fucking and shopping, they really hadn’t done any other ‘relationship’ type of things. 

Their relationship wasn’t conventional, Tsukishima knew that, usually most people get to know each other, say they want to date, then get to sex. For them, it was sex first, get to know a little bit about each other, date, and then learn more about each other. It didn’t make any sense, but neither did the circumstances that brought them together. Tsukishima only met Kuroo because he was desperate for money, and how many people can say they fell in love with a person that way? There came a point several weeks ago where the money didn’t even matter anymore, he just wanted Kuroo. If only he wouldn’t have been so dense and dodged his feelings so much.

“Exactly.” Kuroo smiled, agreeing with Tsukishima as he reached his hand across the table and held the blondes, Tsukishima smiled to himself as he felt the balminess. “I want to know everything about you, Tsukki. I want to know what you like, what you dislike, about your fears and your worries, your everything. So, tell me, what are you worried about?”

“It’s nothing.” No matter how hard Tsukishima tried to change the subject, Kuroo changed it right now, smiling at him as if he was looking in to his very soul, and that subtle ache of guilt seemed to creep back up on Tsukishima again.

“No, I think it’s something. If it was nothing then you would just tell me.” Tsukishima couldn’t argue with that, Kuroo may have been a slight rich jerk with a really high sex drive, but he had logic. He had his words and his actions, and sometimes they didn’t line up at all, but other times, they did, this was one of those times. And Tsukishima knew Kuroo could always see right through him.

“It was just a worthless worry.” Tsukishima felt like he was swallowing his pride as he spoke up. “Ever since last night, I was a little worried it might be a problem for your family and for the company for us to be together. Akaashi was just trying to reassure me about it. I know, really stupid, right?” Tsukishima clicked his tongue at the end, as if he was actually laughing at himself. And he was thankful he at least wasn’t feeling super embarrassed right now.

Tsukishima didn’t want to bring his eyes to look up at Kuroo, probably out of fear of what he might find. He wasn’t afraid of Kuroo, but for the time that he had spent with him, he knew that he was the type who would probably yell at him, not in a hurtful way, but telling him that any worry wasn’t a worthless worry, and Tsukishima didn’t have anything to worry about. He knew all that, but he still had slight hesitance as he brought his eyes to look up at Kuroo. 

But to his dismay, Kuroo didn’t have that look on his face at all, he had a look like he didn’t think Tsukishima was done, or he wanted him to say more, he looked like a cat analyzing someone or something, trying to determine if they are friend or foe. Tsukishima wondered if this is what it meant to truly give your all to somebody, to lie everything out on the table, so to speak, and trust them completely. Could he do that with Kuroo? Everyone around him sure seemed to think so. What was he seriously about to do?

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, what happens next in our relationship? Do we stay together? I don’t really know what I’m going to do after graduation next year, so I..” Tsukishima trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence. That was what Tsukishima was really worrying about, what happens next, everything felt like it was the end game at this point, and Tsukishima would have given desperately to feel like it wasn’t going to end.

Kuroo must have sensed what he was getting at with that, leaning across the table and planting a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s lips as he spoke softly. He really had been kissing him a lot today. “What happens next, Tsukki, is whatever you want to happen.”

It was a strange feeling for Tsukishima. What did he want out of this? He was in a relationship with Kuroo, and he was more than happy about it, but he didn’t really know what he wanted. To stay and live with Kuroo, obviously, but he had no real life goals, no skills, no job plans, he didn’t have the cooking ability that Bokuto had, and he wouldn’t let himself live off of Kuroo for the rest of his life. That was the one thing he wanted to avoid, even when he first met him. So, what was it exactly that he wanted? Well, he already knew the answer to that, he didn’t want to hide anything anymore. Him and Kuroo were together, and he only wanted that.

“November 17th.” Kuroo spoke again, finally answering the question Tsukishima asked him from what felt like several minutes ago. He had almost forgotten about it. “My birthday is November 17th, though there’s nothing that I really want, besides you, of course.” Kuroo sneered again, walking over and wrapping his arms around Tsukishima. That was exactly the kind of answer he was expecting to get out of Kuroo. But he didn’t say anything, he just let him continue, asking a question that he knew he already repeated. “So Tsukki, what do you want to happen?” Kuroo was almost egging him on now, as if he knew Tsukishima already had an answer in his head as he whispered in his ear, and the words rolled off of Tsukishima’s tongue sooner than he could even process what he was feeling right now.

“I want to introduce you to my family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so not much happened in this chapter, this was more of a cute fluffy chapter, or at least my attempt at a cute fluffy chapter, since I don't really think I'm good at writing the cute fluffy romantic stuff, and this chapter was probably one of the more shorter chapters I wrote for this story, but I still hope you enjoy it. It gave me an excuse to write more Bokuto and Akaashi into the story, haha. Next chapter we will go back to the Oikawa side of things and see if he finally tells Iwaizumi. And oh boy, I don't know if I'm ready for that, but it'll also give me the chance to make some guest appearances from some other characters.  
> As always, thank you guys so much for all the comments and the positive feedback on this story, this story does only have three chapters left after this one, so it always gives me more encouragement to keep up with this story.


	14. A Panicked Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa accompanies Iwaizumi to the awards ceremony, where he meets two interesting basketball players and is forced to finally tell Iwaizumi the truth.

“Oh wow. This is impressive.” Oikawa muttered subtly under his breath as his eyes looked over the area around him, his voice was so soft where he thought Iwaizumi wouldn’t be able to hear it from standing next to him; he was wrong.

“Hm.” Iwaizumi hummed slightly, linking his and Oikawa’s arms together, causing them both to give a subtle smile as they walked forward, into what Oikawa assumed to be a banquet hall. “They really added a lot more stuff this year, it looks like.” His voice was calm and subtle, but just enough where Oikawa would pick up on the slight inquisitive tone in his voice.

He was here, he was doing it, he was going to confess to Iwaizumi, tell him everything, no more secrets, and no more lies. It was all about timing, kind of like there is a certain order to go about things when you enter a new relationship, there’s a certain way to go about telling the truth in something like this. Oikawa couldn’t just flat out say it, they needed to be alone, and Iwaizumi needed to be in a good mood and not stressed about anything. And Oikawa needed to wait to make sure it would perfectly go well.

Of course, the best time would be after the ceremony, if Iwaizumi managed to win the ‘player of the year’ award that he was up for, Oikawa looked it up on the internet, and most websites said they were sure that it would either go to Ushijima Wakatoshi or Kageyama Tobio, but Oikawa was still hopeful. Actually, he was more than hopeful, Iwaizumi was good, so why couldn’t he win? He had been to more than a few games at this point, and outside of constantly drooling over Iwaizumi as he was drenched in sweat, Oikawa actually paid attention quite well to what was happening on the court. He saw all the skill Iwaizumi had, he saw how good his reflexes are, he saw everything, and he was certain there was no way in hell that he wouldn’t win. Though, it wasn’t like Oikawa knew an outstanding amount about sports, (other than drooling over the players while watching), he understood the gist of the game, could tell who was who and who was ahead, but that was it. And his mind was preoccupied with other things for this moment.

But it wasn’t just that he had to tell Iwaizumi, he had to let on that nothing was wrong. In his mind, he thought about playing it off as he just got a modeling contract, he was discovered and all was well in the world, he would then tell Iwaizumi he really liked him, and hoped they could still be together, but no, he knew that wouldn’t work. What had happened to him? 

A few years ago, finding any little way to weasel himself out of a lie would have been no problem for him, telling a lie to cover up another lie was easy, as long as you have a clear backstory in your head, it was fine. What was that saying? If you convince yourself that a lie is true, then it’s a lot easier to tell? Something like that. But now, things were different. Oikawa wanted to come clean, he wanted to tell Iwaizumi everything, he wanted him to know what kind of terrible person he was, but most of all, he still wanted him.

He realized it the other day when he was at the university with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, but he loved Iwaizumi and couldn’t bear to live without him right now. He was in love, that feeling he always wanted but never had, he finally had it, and he didn’t want to let it go. Plus, it only solidified his reasons after that ‘bet’ he made with Tsukishima, though from group text messages it looks like he had to live up to his end of the deal now, but at least something good came out of this. He already planned that he was going to tell Iwaizumi, soon, right after the ceremony. He said it before, but it would be better for him to tell him than for him to find out randomly. Oikawa’s name was already growing day by day in the modeling world, it was only a matter of time before Iwaizumi just came across him in a random internet search as it is.

Oikawa tried to relax himself as the two of them made their way inside. Calling this place a ‘banquet hall’ did it a disservice though, it was more like someone re-made a basketball court to look like a banquet hall. You could still see the scuff marks on the wooden floor from all the shoes, and the white walls with all of the banners of the various teams’ logos on them. A long, rectangular table draped in a pure white sheet was in the front of the room, with a podium and several golden trophies in the shape of basketballs stood there as well. Several smaller tabled filled out the room, these round and with similar white clothes over them, there was probably about enough room for six people at each table, if Oikawa had to guess, with matching white plastic chairs surrounding those tables.

He wasn’t quite sure how this worked, did they sit wherever they wanted, or did they have to sit with their teams? Oikawa was a guest here and didn’t want to make things awkward for Iwaizumi, but his eyes already started to wander. He could already pick out a handful of players he had seen either on TV, or up close in person when Iwaizumi took him to his games, Oikawa would always sit court side when that happened, and he was sure a handful of players, especially on Iwaizumi’s team, could recognize him by this point.

He immediately saw two players he recognized from the team, Kindaichi and Kunimi, they were on the same team as Iwaizumi and seemed friendly enough, they always looked like good friends whenever Oikawa saw them. Kindaichi had his hair in an upwards shape that closely resembled the silhouette of a turnip, and Kunimi seemed like the quiet type, with a slightly lazy look in his eyes. Right now, the two of them sat in the front of the room at one of the tables there, munching down on what appeared to be breadsticks.

Everyone here was dressed in suits, which was slightly alarming, the last time Oikawa saw this many people in a small space like this in suits, it was back at the business party with Kuroo. You could sort of say there was a certain appeal that everyone had when they dressed up like this, it was like you got to see a new side of all of the players you had only seen on a TV screens in the past, but at the same time, it made Oikawa worry. He wasn’t sure why, he assumed it was just because seeing so many people in suits made his brain want to turn on the ‘business mode’, the professional mode he always had when he went to events like that, until alcohol was involved, of course. He always felt like he had to make a good impression, since most people tend to look down on models as nothing more than just a ‘pretty face’. He was used to it, but nevertheless, Oikawa still felt uncomfortable as he looked around him.

He thought for a moment that this must be what Tsukishima feels like when being with Kuroo all the time, awkward, like someone out of his league. Maybe it was just because models and athletes come from different worlds, one of rough, sweat, and sports, and the other of glamour, glitter, and too much makeup, but Oikawa felt like an outcast. If it wasn’t for Iwaizumi being there with him, he might have actually forgotten why he was here in the first place.

Sure, there were a handful of other people who didn’t seem to fit in here, most of them looked like the wives, girlfriends, or various significant others of the players. Most of them in a similar manner to how they were, with their arms linked together as they found the nearest empty seat. Oikawa wondered if they felt just as awkward as he did, but from the cheerful and confident look on their faces, he was starting to think otherwise.

“Shall we sit?” Iwaizumi still had that quiet tone when he spoke, reaching down and squeezing onto Oikawa’s hand. 

After spending time with him, Oikawa learned that he wasn’t the affectionate type, especially in public, but he had his own subtle ways of giving Oikawa the ‘sugar daddy affection’ that he probably figured he needed. They really didn’t discuss much of what their relationship entails outside of sex and shopping, but Oikawa was okay with that, he figured that the less they discussed, the better this would be. Maybe it would actually make this feel like an actual relationship that way.

“Good idea, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa almost felt like he was struggling to keep up with that overly bubbly personality he had on the day he first met him, this really was getting harder and harder, and the guilt he feeling was growing worse and worse. He felt like if he didn’t do something about it soon, that it would just slip out.

Oikawa still kept a smile on his face though, as the two of them took their seats towards the nearest table in the back. That answered his question about if he had to sit with the team or not, though it did make sense that players would have friends on different teams. From what he saw of it, the sports world was very different from the modeling world, aside the major job differences, the sports world almost felt friendly, like everyone supports each other, as opposed to the ‘dog eat dog’ world that Oikawa had been used to for so long. That, or maybe it just seemed that way to an outsider. If he asked Iwaizumi, he figured he too would have some misconceptions about the modeling world. He would probably think that it was all some big party filled with glitter and snobby people, and to some extent, he was right, but it was a lot different than that.

The table they sat at already had two other people sitting there, Oikawa wasn’t quite sure who they were from the backs of their heads as they looked around the room. One of them had brown flat hair and the other had bright red hair, in what seemed to be in a spikey motion, kind of similar to Bokuto’s but not perfectly pointed in the shape of an owl. The only other notable thing was the watch on the guy with brown hairs’ arm, it had the initials ‘W U’ incrusted into it, making it only a handful of possibilities of who the person actually is. Since most people don’t go around wearing watches with someone else’s initials.

“Ah, you’re here Iwaizumi.” The brown haired man spoke as he turned around, adjusting himself in the chair as he did so. Oikawa almost felt an uncomfortable feeling as he watched the guys eyes venture over onto him, he was huge, probably about Bokuto’s size or a little bigger, but it was almost scary looking at him, like he had a permanent serious tone to him. He almost looked scary, and like the kind of person you don’t want to mess with.

“Hello Ushijima, good luck tonight.” Iwaizumi didn’t change his tone as he spoke, but Oikawa was certain he sensed his uneasiness as Oikawa rested his hand in Iwaizumi’s from under the table, he seemed not to mind, and even in situations like this Oikawa’s body still craved some sort of attention. 

It took Oikawa a minute to register what was being said. Ushijima? As in Ushijima Wakatoshi? One of the best players in the league? He didn’t want to sound like a total fangirl right now, but even if you knew nothing about sports, you still knew who this guy was. And he looked just as scary in person as he did in the pictures. And in this moment, Oikawa felt slightly thankful that he never went to a match where Iwaizumi played against this guy.

“You too.” Oikawa couldn’t tell if there was any tension between them. Did they not get along, or were they both too serious to make any pleasant conversation? Not that Oikawa was going to ask such a thing, his mind was still calculating when he should tell Iwaizumi everything, but right now wasn’t that time. If he was going to do it, he wasn’t going to do it with other people around. “I’ve never seen you before, are you new?” Ushijima brought his eyes right over to Oikawa, and he knew he felt a chill run down his spine, not the normal ‘this feels good’ chill, this was more of the scared, ‘I’m in a haunted house’ kind of chill.

“Oh no, he’s-“ Iwaizumi began, Oikawa figured that Iwaizumi probably thought he would be a little too on guard to actually say anything right now, it would be a break in his personality from the side of him that he was used to seeing. But luckily for Iwaizumi, Oikawa didn’t scare easily. The sports world was friendly, the model world was not, Oikawa had dealt with a few stuck up people in his life, a guy like Ushijima would be no problem, even if he did look like he would slug you if you pissed him off.

“I’m Oikawa. Iwa-chan’s plus one for tonight.” He gestured over towards Iwaizumi, he wasn’t sure what was with him tonight, but if Iwaizumi and this guy didn’t get along, he wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to rile Iwaizumi up, that was his job after all.

“Wakatoshi, are you picking fights with people again?” The read haired man turned himself around, and gave a friendly smile to all three of them. Oikawa knew upon looking at him that he had never seen this guy before in his life, he almost seemed to have a hyperactive personality, a lot like Bokuto, or like someone who had too much coffee. He also had this look about his eyes that made them almost look lazy, like maybe he was tired or something.

Ushijima glared at the red head, well, it wasn’t so much a glare as it was a more stern look, if it was even possible for him to look more stern than he already did right now. Oikawa was trying to figure out what he was thinking, and right now, he guessed he was probably annoyed.

“Now, now. Don’t give me that look. We should try to make friends. You see? This is why no one wants to sit with us at these sorts of things. Sorry about him.” The red head brought his attention over to Oikawa and Iwaizumi now. “I’m Tendou Satori. Another player on the team and Ushijima over here’s friend. Oikawa, was it? Do you play sports or something? Are you some young college kid Iwaizumi is training?” Oikawa wasn’t sure what about him made him so constantly mistaken for a college kid, he thought he looked pretty adult today with his suit and all, and he wasn’t even wearing his glasses. Was it his hair? Or just his natural model charms?

“Oh no, I’m..” It was amazing at how comfortable Oikawa felt right now, apparently Tendou was able to ease the tension as he spoke, he did seem like a non-serious type of guy, but Oikawa was at a loss for words when it came to what to say. He knew Iwaizumi wasn’t like Kuroo, the type of person who was comfortable with boasting about being in a sugar daddy type of relationship, but just saying that he was Iwaizumi’s friend seemed to not be very believable right now. In all the times he had been living with him, Iwaizumi never once hung out with anyone else, his life just seemed to revolve around basketball.

“Actually.” Tendou interrupted him, almost making him feel relieved that he didn’t have to come up with something to say now. “I feel like I’ve seen you before, doesn’t he look familiar, Wakatoshi?” Tendou lightly nudged Wakatoshi as if he was trying to get his attention, or get him to comment on something. He appeared to be already have his eyes wandering off, looking around the room before that happened. Oikawa thought briefly that he might have a short attention span.

“Well, now that you mention it…” Ushijima trailed off as he spoke, like he was trying to remember something as he placed his hand on his chin, and Oikawa felt like he had seen a ghost.

He didn’t think about this, in the realm of possibilities for how tonight played out in his head, this wasn’t one of them. In the best case scenario, he tells Iwaizumi after the ceremony, he understands and then he offers to still be together with him. In the worst-case scenario, he tells him at the same time, Iwaizumi hates him and never wants to see his face again, and Oikawa would just accept that a terrible person like him, someone who has spent his whole life getting whatever he wants, can’t have happiness. It was the sad truth, but it’s something that he probably deserved. 

But this, this wasn’t any of those options. He never even thought about someone here could recognize him and ruin the whole thing, this was terrible, this was worse than terrible. Really, was the famous Ushijima Wakatoshi and his red headed friend going to ruin this all for him? Was this seriously about to happen right now?

“I get that a lot, actually.” Oikawa had no choice but to play this off, Iwaizumi had a look on his face that clearly said he had no idea what they were talking about, so there was at least that working for his advantage. “You know what they say, there’s seven other people in the world who look exactly like you, so maybe you just found one of my twins.” Oikawa laughed, trying to play it off the best he could. In the back of his mind only hoping that they would drop it here, maybe someone would walk up to the podium and start talking, he would give anything for a distraction right now.

“Actually wait… I think I know.” But alas, that didn’t seem to work. It was like the entire universe was working against him right now. What was he supposed to do, just break out crying and yelling, telling Iwaizumi everything right now? He really hoped not, the last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene for anyone. This was punishment, that’s what this was, punishment for every terrible thing he did in his life. Oikawa didn’t need this to remind him that he was a bad person, he already knew that.

As if he was doing a magic trick, Tendou pulled a small bag out from under the table, getting a questionable look from Ushijima, as if he was saying ‘you actually brought that thing here?’. He sat it up on the table and started rummaging around in it, everyone giving him that same questionable look, Oikawa was getting the sense that this guy was a bit of an odd ball as he tried to disperse any negative possibilities from the back of his mind. What was he doing? Did he have something he wanted to show them? Oikawa tried to keep calm, but he could already feel himself starting to sweat as he heard the sound of papers being shuffled around from inside the bag.

It felt like all of Oikawa’s fears came to life as he pulled a magazine out of the bag, looking at it, it looked just like a generic manga magazine, one that was probably several weeks old, from looking at the front cover that had several wrinkles in it from where it had been folded and unfolded repeatedly.

Oikawa gave Iwaizumi a subtle glance, as if hoping he could save him from what was about to come. This wasn’t happening, there was no way this was happening.

“Iwa-chan.” Oikawa said suddenly, tightening his grip on Iwaizumi sitting next to him, he wanted to ask them if they could go somewhere else, there was no way in hell he was going to let some guy that he just met for the first time be the one to break the news to Iwaizumi for the first time. He had a pretty good idea about what was about to happen, and what he was playing at. Oikawa didn’t know for certain which magazines ran the ads he had modeled for in them, but it isn’t that uncommon to think at least one of them would be in a manga comic magazine like this. For lack of a better word, he was screwed.

“Is something wrong, Oikawa?” Iwaizumi must have picked up on how uneasy he was feeling right now, though it was probably more certain from the panicked tone in his voice more than anything else. Oikawa was so used to modeling that it became difficult for him to even show basic emotions sometimes.

“I’m going to go into the bathroom, don’t win an award without your good luck charm here.” He smiled, doing his best to put on a happy face and smile for Iwaizumi, he thought about giving him a kiss on the cheek, but canned the idea when he remembered Ushijima and Tendou were only a few feet away from him. But the bathroom always worked, it was a great excuse, the perfect place for Oikawa to clear his head and calm down.

Thank goodness, it wasn’t hard to find, right around the corner as Oikawa tried not to look like he was frantically trying to get out of there. What was wrong with him? He was a model, one of the best in the industry at this time, and now here he was, acting all panicky because a basketball player may or may not have found his picture in a magazine, and was now going to show it to the guy he was sleepy with. What was wrong with him? Doing this was a mistake, lying about who he was was a mistake, he should have known there was no way he could have pulled this off from the start. 

You can’t lie to someone about who you are like this. Sure, he knew he would have to tell him one day, but he figured that day would never come, he figured Iwaizumi wouldn’t have been as good as he thought he would and they would end things off in a month or two, or some excuse would just keep prolonging him telling the truth until that happened. But this, this was much worse. Iwaizumi was perfect, Oikawa’s ideal type, he wasn’t much for conversation, but that didn’t stop him from actually paying attention to Oikawa. And outside of his main circle of friends, Iwaizumi was the first person who even seemed concerned about him. He wasn’t a university student, but he might as well been with the way Iwaizumi asked him questions about his day to day life so much. It was like for the first time someone actually cared about Oikawa, and he wasn’t going to let someone steal that away now.

Fortunately, there was no else in the bathroom, not that Oikawa could tell anyone was there or not. It was a pretty standard place you would find just about anywhere, no more than five stalls littering in the back wall, and five sinks in the front. He splashed come cool water on his face as he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was still perfect quaffed, but upon closer inspection he could see the feint signs of a few spots of acne appearing on his forehead and on his cheeks, no doubt probably from worrying about this too much over the past few weeks. This was the worst, and not in the ‘at what age do you become too old for acne’ way? 

“Oikawa.” He didn’t even hear the door to the bathroom open, swinging and bumping up against the wall, but as soon as he looked over to his left, his eyes were brought with the eyes of Iwaizumi, who looked taller than him slightly since Oikawa was bending down to get a better look at himself above the sink.

Not that he didn’t know why Iwaizumi was here, Oikawa hadn’t been crying, but if he did then maybe that would have made this situation that much more justifiable. This was the end, this was the part where Oikawa Tooru’s world came crashing down. He always wondered how on those drama romance shows why those people considered breaking up with someone to be ‘the end’, he always thought it was silly, it was just one person, there were lots of other people out there, and most of the time those people still had their career to fall back on and were still young. But now he totally understood it, when you meet someone that you really like, and you feel like they’re ‘the one’, it’s only natural that you would feel like a piece of you is missing without them. And that’s how he felt right now.

To some extent you could say that Oikawa had never felt happiness before. He said it before, but he had it all, looks, money, people just couldn’t leave him alone, even his friends were on the same level as him, and now that he was an adult all that remained with him, he was a model, attractive, could probably have whoever he wanted, but he still wasn’t happy. 

Until he met Iwaizumi that is. Who would have ever thought that a slightly reserved athlete, who was short, has a tough look about him that intimidates people, and was probably the most socially awkward person in bed that Oikawa had ever met, was the one thing on the planet to ever bring him happiness. It didn’t make any sense, but then again, neither did the reason behind why Oikawa did something like this to begin with. Do people who are already successful lie about it just to be with someone? Or was this just a problem he had? He was desperate, and a terrible person, but he knew that.

“I guess you want an answer, right?” All he could do right now is not be as pathetic of a person and tell him the truth now, plus, Iwaizumi needed to know what kind of guy he had been sleeping with for the past few weeks and months, he at least deserved to know that. But just like those people in those drama romance shows, Oikawa too would find a way to move on.

Iwaizumi didn’t say anything, and he couldn’t tell if he knew what he was talking about or not, he was so hard to read. But at this point Oikawa didn’t have a choice other than to continue.

When it came down to it, he still had a lot to learn about Iwaizumi, he didn’t know what kind of person he was or how he took things, or if he even was the kind of person who would believe it if he just told him he was actually a model like this. Was he the type who would get angry or just go with the flow? 

He decided to pull out his phone, knowing that he was only a few taps away from pulling up some pictures of himself with an internet search. Was he really about to do this?

“I’ve been lying to you, Iwa-chan. I’m not a college student like you think I am, I’m a model, I’ve been one for a couple years now, ever since I turned eighteen. I know, it’s crazy, I shouldn’t have lied to you in the first place. It makes me sound like a crazy stalker when I say and think of it now, but I saw you on TV a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with you. I submitted an application to ‘The Lion’s Den’ in hopes of meeting you and going on a date with you. I didn’t expect to like you as much as I did, this makes this that much harder. I’m a terrible person and a liar who was desperate. When we went on that onsen date that one time, I didn’t actually know Tsukki, well not that well at least, I knew Kuroo, his sugar daddy, most of my friends are either models or also in some kind of business company. Here, you should take the watch back, I can afford my own.” Was that it? Did Oikawa say everything that he needed to say? 

The gist of it was that he was a terrible person and a liar, there wasn’t much more to it than that as he held out the diamond watch Iwaizumi bought for him some time ago, and he held out his phone in his other hand, as if he was showing him the proof. He tried to go with the most modest shoot he had done, one where he was fully clothed, wearing a suit for a cologne ad, it was one of his more recent shoots too. 

He was hoping that maybe Iwaizumi could see the resemblance in Oikawa’s pathetic face as he looked at it. It took several seconds before he was even able to get the courage to look at him, determined not to cry as he waited for his reaction, because the last time Oikawa even shed a tear was during his high school graduation. Who would have thought that something like this would be what broke him?

“Dumbass. Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi spoke softly as he had that angry, concentrated look on his face. It was a look Oikawa had seen a few times before, mainly when he was playing a game or sometimes when he was working out, he would crinkle his nose and push his eyebrows together real tight, and every time he did that, Oikawa was reminded of how beautifully attractive he was. He read an article recently that said when you love someone, you’ll find them attractive no matter what they look like, and this just proved that. Even when he was probably going to get pissed off and yell at him he was attractive.

“Huh?” Oikawa spoke up softly, he heard the ‘dumbass’ part clearly, but what was that other thing he said? Did he just mesh Oikawa’s name with an insult? Not that he didn’t deserve it. But right now, he wondered why Iwaizumi wasn’t taking the back the watch. It was almost like he was taken off guard for the first time in a while.

“You’re a real idiot, you know that? Do you know how insane it is to do something that you did?”

“So, I’ve been told.” Oikawa shrugged. It felt like he was getting a lecture right now, like when he originally told everyone what he did to get with Iwaizumi, it was crazy, he knew it, and he knew everyone looked at him like he was crazy. But when Iwaizumi did it, it sounded more like a concerned friend than a lecture. Why did it sound so different coming from his voice when it was still so unyielding, like he was actually willing to listen to Iwaizumi lecture him and not talk back?

Oikawa figured this was the part where he would say goodbye to Iwaizumi for good, I mean, how many people would stay with someone after they did what he did, right? And it wasn’t like Oikawa needed the money right now or anything, that’s the whole reason most people enter these kinds of relationships. It was over now. He was prepared to just give back the watch, move what little things he had over at Iwaizumi’s out, and walk out of his life.

“Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi almost caught Oikawa off guard as he repeated that word, this time making it loud enough to where Oikawa could hear it. What was he doing? It was like he was combining Oikawa’s name with an insult. Was he trying to rile him up or something? Was there anything more for him to say?

“What’s with calling me that terrible name?” It was all Oikawa could do to prolong the conversation, despite how much he wanted to leave this terrible situation right now, he also didn’t want to, he would give anything to have even a second more to spend with Iwaizumi.

“Can’t help it, it’s what you are. I’ve known for a while now, you know?” Iwaizumi almost smirked, as if he was pulling some kind of prank and it finally paid off.

“Huh?” Oikawa had a sudden look of shock on his face. “What do you mean you’ve known for a while? Known what?”

“That you’re a model, dumbass. You gave me your real name on the application the day we first met. Nobody does that when they enter these kinds of relationships unless they have another reason. I knew something was off, so I looked you up on the internet.” His words were calm, almost to the point where it reminded him of Tsukishima or Akaashi, as he tried to process what was being said. Was it even possible for Oikawa to be even more of a wreck than he already was right now? He felt his whole body go from panicking to just being baffled, and for a moment he thought maybe this was all some weird dream. 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Was Oikawa being pranked right now? Was he on one of those terrible prank shows? He had to be, there was no way this was happening.

“I wanted to wait for you to tell me, I’m not so rude that I’d embarrass you like that.”

“Wait a minute-“

“You’re going to ask me why I still continued sleeping with you and buying you things, right?” It was like he was reading Oikawa’s mind, though, his own mind was travelling too fast to process words right now, so he had no choice but to let him continue. “You remember on the day we first met, we slept together that night at the onsen, and you told me that you thought you liked me? Well, I kind of like you too.”

“Iwa-chan.” As if Oikawa’s mouth was finally able to move again, he took a few steps forward, bringing himself face to face with Iwaizumi, now towering over him again. 

Oikawa didn’t fully understand what was going on, but he did understand one thing, Iwaizumi. He knew that he wasn’t one for public affection, or showing affection at all really, but he knew that a confession like this meant everything. Iwaizumi liked him, really? It was really this simple? All of the pain and heartbreak could have been solved weeks ago. Honestly, it was more amazing that Iwaizumi was able to keep up with it.

In the course of their relationship, or if you even considered it to be a relationship, Oikawa was the one who was usually in control. He always made the first move on Iwaizumi, to touch him, to kiss him, to sleep with him, it was all so unconventional, just like them, but this time, it was Iwaizumi who moved first. He took a few steps forward, kissing Oikawa ad catching him off guard for the first time, Oikawa almost dropped his phone and the watch in his hand from how surprised he was, but it wasn’t unwelcomed at all.

It was warm and Oikawa let himself get lost in the kiss, letting his tongue run over Iwaizumi’s lips, like he was begging to enter his mouth. He was always a pretty touchy person, with every part of his body, whether that be his hands or his tongue, he liked feeling the other person, and making them feel a way that only Oikawa could make them feel. And he especially liked that with Iwaizumi. From the day they first met, he could tell that Iwaizumi was slightly inexperienced, probably from his rough look he had about him, most people were probably too intimidated to talk to him, let alone sleep with him or kiss him. It was kind of cute how he let Oikawa do whatever he wanted, but he knew exactly how to make him feel good. So good in fact that he could feel a moan from Iwaizumi as the two of them departed their lips, making Oikawa’s head spin, in a good way.

“Does this mean we can stay together?” Oikawa asked in an almost hopeful voice. He figured that the sugar daddy thing was off now, though that was probably a good thing. But his mind couldn’t help but think the worst, Iwaizumi still wanted him, right? 

“No more lying, okay, Shittykawa?” Iwaizumi still had that same serious tone in his voice as he repeated that terrible nickname, like he was scolding him for what he did, but he had every right to, it almost sounded like he was forgiving him.

“What’s with that nickname?” Oikawa questioned him, feeling just as bold as ever. Out of all the nicknames Iwaizumi could have chosen for him, why that one?

“Can’t help it, that’s what I’m calling you now.” At first, he thought he was kidding, but after getting a better look at his face, Oikawa realized he was being completely serious right now. Well, he did sort of deserve it. And he did originally start calling him ‘Iwa00chan’ without his permission, so they were sort of even.

“Iwa-chan, that’s not fair.” He almost whined, for a moment he forgot that they were technically in a public place. But he couldn’t complain, because once again, Oikawa was happy, happy just to be with Iwaizumi and see that subtle smile on his face. “Oh, shouldn’t get back to the hall? They should be giving out the awards, Iwa-chan.” In the matter of only a few minutes Oikawa went from panicking to being back to his overly bubbly self, as he clung onto Iwaizumi.

“Yeah, but don’t worry too much about it, it’s probably going to go to Ushijima anyways, he’s been the top player for the past three years in a row.” Iwaizumi sounded less than confident as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, clearly he was not trying to brag or anything.

“Well, Iwa-chan, how about if you win I’ll give you a special gift?” Oikawa was trying to goad him, he had always been good at that, plus, he had learned a thing or two from Kuroo when it came to provoking people.

“And if I don’t win?” Iwaizumi smirked as if he was willing to play Oikawa’s little game.

“Then I’ll also give you a gift. Maybe I’ll even let you top tonight.” Oikawa winked, being as flirty a possible. “Ow!” Iwaizumi swung and hit in on the top of the head, he was a basketball player, but with how hard he hit, he might as well have been a boxer or a baseball player, maybe even a volleyball player.

“Don’t say things like that where people can easily hear, Shittykawa.”

“Right, sorry, sorry.” Oikawa put his hands up in front of his chest, as if he was halting and apologizing. “But let’s go, Iwa-chan. I don’t want to miss anything.” Oikawa gave a friendly smile as they continued walking on.

“Right, and you owe me dinner by the way, it’s the least you can do.”

“Okay, I know this really great French place we can go to, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa was used to people being around him for his looks or for his wealth all his life, but with the way Iwaizumi talked to him, he knew he was genuine, and that he was also very much in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, I don't think I've ever had such a difficult time writing a chapter, I ended up changing this multiple times, haha. But, I've been pretty busy this week with a new video game I bought, and I'm going to an anime con this weekend, so I haven't had as much time to write, but I still hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I also really enjoyed writing Tendou and Ushijima into this. Next chapter we will go back to Tsukishima and Kuroo, and we will see how it goes with Tsukishima coming out to his family, and that chapter might be a little later than normal.


	15. A Trip Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima and Kuroo take a trip back to Miyagi to tell Tsukishima's family about his relationship with Kuroo, and things don't go quite as expected.

This was it, this was the long awaited day Tsukishima had been waiting for, the day he had been dreading. You could sort of say it was his final conflict and battle with his life, the one thing he has to finally get over to be happy and truly have a normal relationship with Kuroo. After he dealt with this all of the worries in the back of his mind would cease to exist, they had to, because this was all that had been on his mind recently. 

Kuroo knew all this, he knew how big of a deal this was for Tsukishima, and how uncertain he was about the outcome of this, he had lost sleep over it. Hell, Tsukishima witnessed Kuroo being the one to wake up alongside him in the middle of the night, just to give him a comforting kiss and tell him everything was going to be alright before falling back asleep. But yet, he still wanted to come along and be supportive, saying that he was ‘just a good guy like that’, and Tsukishima felt like he was actually being sincere about saying something like that this time, not that he could put forth the energy to retort as it was. He didn’t have to come, he could have stayed him, he was always still so busy with work anyway, but still, here he was, travelling across Japan just to help him. Tsukishima was so nervous, but Kuroo reassured him for what he was about to do. He was going to come out to his family.

Tsukishima knew this was what he had to and wanted to do for the longest time, even in the back of his mind when he started having feelings for Kuroo, this was the one thing that always stopped him from admitting them. It had been a terrible string of thoughts that had plagued his mind since he met Kuroo through ‘The Lion’s Den’, he never wanted his family to find out he was actually gay. He could already see that shameful look on their face as he told them, asking how something like this could happen to their son, their perfect son. Both Tsukishima and his brother were gifted with height and intelligence from a young age, probably giving Tsukishima somewhat of a superiority complex from a young age too, until he got into college, but his parents always did have a high opinion of him and he didn’t want to disappoint them, whether that be with his sexuality, or what he wanted to do career wise after college.

Tsukishima was smart and he knew that there was a proper way to do something like this. He had read several articles online, and a lot like how there is a proper way at dealing with relationships, there is a proper way of breaking the news to your family about something like this, you couldn’t just say it, you had to ease them into it. Kind of like how Oikawa mentioned before that there was a proper way he had to break the news to Iwaizumi about who he actually was, this was a lot like that. For the first time in forever, Tsukishima was actually able to sympathize with people thanks to this whole situation, thanks to Kuroo. Tsukishima had, what he considered to be, actual friends in his life now, and though he was still trying to figure out how to deal with it, he was happy, for the most part, but he just needed to get through this.

When it came to telling his family, first and foremost he wanted to tell his brother. Although Tsukishima mainly pegged his brother as naïve and oblivious to anything and everything sexual, he figured that he would be the one to take the news the best, he was always the supportive type. And if Akiteru was okay with it, maybe he would be able to sweet talk their parents into being okay with it too. Or at least, that was the best case in his mind. Plus, Akiteru did technically already meet Kuroo, and he seemed to like him at least a little bit, that in itself was already a little reassuring.

Tsukishima tried to coordinate this to the best of his ability, even asking Kuroo for advice on how he should go about doing this, not that Kuroo had experience with coming out, he never asked him how he did it, but he assumed Kuroo’s parents were okay with just about everything, being from a rich family from Tokyo and all. I mean, the guy attended meetings for a living pretty much, surely at least having that knowledge would work to their advantage for this sort of thing. But nevertheless, Tsukishima texted his brother willingly for the first time in what felt like forever, telling him that he was heading back home to Miyagi over break and that he needed to tell him something, and that he really wanted mom and dad to not be around when he got there.

Fortunately, his brother agreed. They both knew their parents work schedules pretty well. Their dad worked a normal desk job, sometimes he travelled for work, but for the most part he worked a steady nine to five office job. Their mom on the other hand was a stay at home mom, making it difficult to find a time when she would be out. Sometimes she would leave to go have lunch with some old friends, or do her weekly grocery shopping, but other than that she never left the house.

Akiteru reassured Tsukishima that he would have everything taken care of, telling him that he wrote down extra things on the shopping list for their mom to get this week. Since he was also staying at home right now, he had a break from work and always liked to visit his family whenever he could, unlike Tsukishima who barely got himself to come home from university. 

Even during the various breaks Tsukishima would get from college, he would rarely return home, only during the summer. He mainly just started out doing that because he couldn’t justify to himself spending the money to take a train from Tokyo to Miyagi, and then back to Tokyo later, his parents already sent as much money as they could to him and he didn’t want to burden them. Of course, he knew that was a ridiculous excuse, and got several worried phone calls from his mother and brother because of that, but he couldn’t help it. He probably didn’t want to get onto the topic of ‘what are you doing after you graduate’, or telling his parents that he wasn’t in the top of his class like he was back in high school anymore.

All that aside, Tsukishima was pretty sure this was Kuroo’s first time visiting Miyagi, he clung close to Tsukishima and spent the whole walk from the train station to their house asking him about things, saying ‘where was your high school at?’, ‘is there anything to do around here?’, and asking Tsukishima if he ever visited certain shops they would pass when he was a teenager. It was all kind of annoying and pestering, but Kuroo had a special glint in his eyes as he spoke, making it almost seem heartwarming as Tsukishima unlocked the front door with the key his always had.

“So, this is where you grew up, Tsukki? How cozy.” Kuroo had a curious look about him as he took off his shoes and started looking around the living room section, the moment they entered the house. He had a curious enthusiastic look, one that almost reminded him of Bokuto.

When you walked in you were automatically greeted with an open living room the moment you entered the house, it looked just as it always had. That same old couch was right in the middle of the room, with that same small coffee table and TV right in front of it. There was always a book shelf that his mom liked to keep in there, littering it with family pictures instead of books though. Kuroo took immediate notice to this and started looking at them, taking all the ones of Tsukishima off the shelf. It was like an accidental stroll down memory lane that he didn’t want, as Tsukishima caught a glimpse of himself from his childhood in one of the frames.

“Aw, Tsukki, was this you as a little kid? You had glasses even back then too. You’re so cute.” Kuroo pointed to an old rare portrait of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi when they were little. What made it so rare was that it was of a few pictures where Tsukishima was actually smiling in it. He always did seem to be a much happier little kid than adult, then again, everyone was probably happier when they were a little kid. You don’t yet know much about the world and look at everything with a positive view still, or at least, that was how Tsukishima pictured it. But even as a little kid, he probably didn’t think his life would turn out the way it did right now.

“I’m not.” Tsukishima felt embarrassed, his face turning bright red as he tried to hurry Kuroo along and put the pictures back where he found them. This was the definition of embarrassing, he didn’t think about this, but Kuroo would get to see an embarrassing side of him, the young, vulnerable child side of him. He hated that, and it made him scowl just thinking about it, and he really hoped that Kuroo wasn’t going to request a ‘tour’ to make this even more embarrassing. But anyway you looked at it, this was the equivalent of bringing the boyfriend home to ‘meet the parent’s’, there was no way doing this wasn’t embarrassing. Did Tsukishima really make the right decision here today?

“Aw, what’s this? Don’t be shy, you were such a cute kid.” Kuroo cooed as he placed the picture frame down, moving closer to Tsukishima and placing his hand on his chin, to draw their faces closer together, their lips were only a few centimeters apart and he could feel the warmth as he prepared to kiss him. His body still did react on his own when it came to this sort of thing, but he no longer seemed to mind, and he was just now starting to think that maybe it was better to go with the flow.

“Sorry I’m late, Kei. I wanted to-“ Tsukishima had to be cursed with the worst timing ever, because there was no way this was happening right now. His brother appeared in the door opposite of the one they came in, the one to the kitchen, holding a tray of what looked to be muffins, with that same innocent smile on his face as he saw Kuroo about to indulge in a kiss from his younger brother. 

“I can explain.” Was all Tsukishima was able to mutter out as he pushed Kuroo’s hand away, he could feel whole body start to sweat and his heart start to race. This was not going how he imagined it would in his head.

When Tsukishima played out the possible scenarios’ of how telling his brother would go, he thought they would get to the house, Akiteru would probably make him so tea, since their mother really did like tea, it made Tsukishima and Akiteru grow up with a fine appreciation of it, and Kuroo would be there mostly for emotional support as he let it slip out slowly that he wasn’t interested in girls romantically, or at all, really. That was how he wanted to do it, carefully. But this, this was like the equivalent of your brother walking in on you sleeping with someone, he might has well have walked in on him and Kuroo doing it, because that’s what Tsukishima was certain it looked like right now. He was mainly counting on his brother being really dense and oblivious that he wouldn’t notice it to get him out of this situation, but even that would be a stretch. There was only a certain layer of density that someone could go to with this sort of thing. What was he going to do?

“Ah, hello Kuroo, long time no see. I didn’t know you would be coming here with Kei today.” Akiteru gave a friendly smile over at Kuroo as he sat the tray of muffins down on the coffee table, and a wave of relief almost fell over Tsukishima as his brother just barely avoided the topic of what he just saw.

“Ah yes, it has been awhile, Akiteru-kun.” Was Kuroo nervous right now? Because he had an almost formal tone in his voice as he spoke, smiling and nodding to Akiteru as Tsukishima tugged on his sleeve to move him over to the couch. Well, thinking about it, this probably wasn’t the easiest thing for Kuroo either. 

He was not only getting to meet Tsukishima’s brother again, but talk to him almost one on one pretty much for the first time. The time they ran into him at the store didn’t really count, since Bokuto and Akaashi were there and Kuroo easily helped him evade the conversation. This was going to be different than that. There was a certain feeling of uneasiness that came with your over protective older brother meeting your boyfriend, and Tsukishima couldn’t blame Kuroo for feeling nervous. Hell, even he was nervous. Would Akiteru even like Kuroo if he knew that he had been sleeping with Tsukishima? Kuroo was a wealthy business man, physically fit, and came from a completely different world than Tsukishima’s family did. Would his family even be able to accept him? All this time Tsukishima was worrying about Kuroo’s family not accepting him, but really, maybe he should have been worrying about it being the other way around.

“You two wait right there, I’ll bring us out some tea. Is tea alright, Kuroo?” Akiteru spoke again, with that same pleasant and innocent tone in his voice as he headed back for the kitchen. Though, Tsukishima was pretty sure his brother was going to make tea anyway, so his answer didn’t matter.

“Yeah, tea’s fine.” Kuroo nodded as he kept a quiet tone in his voice.

In all the time living with Kuroo, Tsukishima had never seen him once drink tea, he always said that he was a coffee person, and he only even started buying tea products and a tea maker when he found out Tsukishima liked it. Tsukishima coaxed him to try it for himself once, but he accidentally put too much sugar in it and overpowered it. It was funny to look at the almost sour face he made while drinking it, and Kuroo hasn’t had any tea since then. But Tsukishima didn’t have the courage right now to ask him why he decided to drink tea all of a sudden. All he could do was look down at the floor, feeling Kuroo’s thigh touching his thigh as the two of them sat so close together on the couch, he subtly reached his hand over as they waited for his brother, interlocking his fingers with Kuroo’s, as if they were both reassuring each other. And both of them knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Even in times like this, why was it that his hands were still so warm?

“Okay, what did you want to talk about?” Akiteru returned from the kitchen, holding three cups of tea on another tray as he sat them down on the table. Tsukishima knew that he didn’t have long, their father was still at work for six more hours, but their mom would only be gone for an hour more tops, this wasn’t exactly the time for Tsukishima to beat around the bush and lean on Kuroo for emotional support, or have any second thoughts about his emotions.

He just had to say it, or start the conversation at least. He really just needed that part of his brain that just starts talking on its own to do its thing right about now. And as he looked at the innocent eyes of his brother staring back at him from across the couch, that’s exactly what he did.

“We need to talk, nii-chan.” Tsukishima could feel his palms sweat as he spoke, and he wasn’t sure how to even begin on going about this properly when he wanted to get it over with before his mom came back home. He thought now that maybe he should have asked Oikawa about how he confessed to Iwaizumi, or maybe Akaashi and all of his calm wisdom that he seemed to have would have been helpful right about now. But no, he only had one option right now, he wasn’t going to run away anymore, and he was going to do this.

“I don’t know how to say it, so I’m just going to come out with it.” Tsukishima averted his eyes from everything and everyone, looking down at the floor of the living room, he could feel Kuroo squeezing his hand as if he was telling him it was going to be okay. “Nii-chan, Kuroo and I are together… romantically. I’m, well, you know…” Was that it? Was that really all there was to say? It was just less than ten words, just a small amount, but yet those words had been plaguing Tsukishima for the past few days, making him lose sleep about how he thought his family would disown him.

“You mean you’re gay?” Akiteru spoke the obvious and Tsukishima didn’t have the courage within him to bring his eyes up to look at his brother.

“Yeah, I am. We’ve been together for a few months now.” That was a lie, well, sort of. When it comes down to it, Tsukishima and Kuroo had only been a ‘official couple’ for a little over two weeks now, but it had been well over a month since Kuroo first confessed to being in love with Tsukishima, and he was starting to think that he too fell in love with Kuroo upon meeting him those several months ago. And for the sake of not making his brother having more of a heart attack then he was sure he was already having, he made the conscious decision to leave out any details about ‘The Lion’s Den’ and how they actually met, and he made sure that Kuroo knew that as well.

Tsukishima reached his other hand down to take a sip of tea as he waited for his brother’s reaction, if he didn’t faint, he would consider that to be a good thing.

“Is that it?” Akiteru spoke as Tsukishima didn’t quite register the words, he still didn’t bring his eyes up and didn’t want to look at his brother or Kuroo right now. Though he was sure Akiteru was probably confused and Kuroo was just listening closely, probably not going to say anything. “I’ve suspected it was that way for a while now, actually.”

“Huh?” As if Tsukishima finally heard clearly what his brother said, he snapped his head up in a swift motion and almost dropped the cup in his hand in the process. What did he just say? Certainly, his brother didn’t just say what he thought he just said. “Wait, Nii-chan, did you just?” Tsukishima didn’t even have time to finish his sentence as he could feel his brain travelling fast, trying to process everything. What was going on here?

“Now, now.” Akiteru got up from the couch, placing his hands on both sides of Tsukishima’s head, as if he was trying to calm him down, and both Kuroo and Tsukishima were looking at him in disbelief. “Your older brother isn’t quite as naïve as you think he is.” He smiled, almost laughing as he continued. “I thought you two might be together since the day I saw you two at the shop, the way Kuroo looked at you sort of gave it away, but I didn’t want to say anything. You always freak out so much when you think about your older brother knowing anything about your personal life, and I could see the way you were panicking today when I almost walked in on the two of you kissing. I didn’t want you to have a heart attack.” He laughed again, taking his hands off Tsukishima as he could feel his confusion start to turn into annoyance. Today was a really weird day.

“Wait a minute, so you knew?” His brother had been faking it the whole time? No way. Even growing up Akiteru was the dense type, his friends used to come over all the time and tell sex jokes, and they would always go right over his head. There was no way he could be pretending all of this time.

“Of course, I knew. You’re my little brother, and even though you passed me a long time ago, with both intelligence and height, I still notice little things about you, Kei. And plus.” Akiteru adjusted his position, turning to Kuroo and it felt like he was directly only speaking to him. “Kuroo seems really good for you, I could tell back at the shop that you really liked him.”

“Nii-chan-“ Tsukishima tried to interrupt him, it felt like his brother was getting overly mushy and talking like a proud parent again, to no avail of course, because his brother seemed to keep on talking, as if he was getting ready to give Kuroo a lecture.

“Kuroo, I trust that you will keep on taking good care of Kei. I know he can probably be a handful at times, and he has kind of a fragile personality and always needs to be looked after-”

“Nii-chan-“ Tsukishima repeated himself, still nothing.

“-and he might try to push you away, but please don’t give up on him if tries to do that.” Tsukishima felt more than embarrassed right now. It was one thing to have your family talk about you while you weren’t with them, but it was another thing entirely for them to talk about you while you were sitting less than two feet away. Why did his brother have to be like this?

Kuroo stood up, keeping ahold of Tsukishima’s hand and standing up with him. “You don’t have to worry about that, he already tried to do it once.” Kuroo laughed and Tsukishima forced himself to pull away as he scowled at the two of them. He really didn’t want to be forced to remember that night when him and Kuroo technically got together, he had said such embarrassing things back then, he was so vulnerable, and it was a sight of him that he never wanted to see again.

“Oh, well that’s good to hear. I know Kei can get quite moody in the mornings, and he likes to push people away as a reflex, but he doesn’t mean to. My little brother is quite cute.”

“Isn’t he, though? I remember this one time after we moved in together when he-“ 

“-Can you two please not boast about me like this? It’s embarrassing.” There was no doubt that Tsukishima’s face was bright red right now as he grabbed onto the sleeve of Kuroo’s shirt, he would give anything right now to get to leave this conversation. “Come, I want to get some things out of my old room to bring back to the apartment.” Sometime ago. Tsukishima stopped calling it the ‘penthouse’ and started calling it the ‘apartment’, not wanting it to sound snobby or like he was bragging that Kuroo had wealth. He knew his brother probably didn’t know what Kuroo did for a living, but he didn’t want him worrying about anything, so he decided to keep that to himself.

“And don’t worry about mom and dad, Kei. I’ll deal with them tonight.” Akiteru poked his head out into the hallway between the front door and the living room, as Tsukishima turned around and nodded to him, before opening up the door far against the back wall in the hallway to his old room. He sighed with a relief as he finally brought his ups in front of him to look at the familiar scenery.

Saying everything still looked the same as it did when he was back in high school was a bit of an understatement. He still had his bed against the far, right end of the wall, still with the dark blue bedding and sheets on it, one of his favorite, old dinosaur plushies sat on the middle of the bed. He always did like the thing, it was at least a foot tall and perfect for squeezing whenever you feel stressed out.

On the opposite side of the bed was a small desk, it was at one point what his old, crappy laptop sat on before he took it off to college with him. Now all that was left was an old pair of his white headphones he used back in school, and several scratches and marks could be seen on the wooden surface of it. There was also a small desk chair with it that matched the wood, it was old and falling apart, he didn’t dare sit on it because he knew the thing was about to break with the slightest movement.

The only other things left in the room were a wooden dresser, matching the same wood as the desk and the chair, on the right side in front of the bed. It hadn’t been opened in years, but he guessed all that was in it was just various clothes he decided not to take with him when he went away to university. Probably mainly pajamas and a few dinosaur stuffed toys. He knew that he didn’t own much else at the time.

Above that was a metal shelf built into the wall, with a handful of plastic dinosaur figures sitting on them. He opted not to take those with him when he went off to college, mainly out of knowing he probably wouldn’t have enough room to put them anywhere, and Tsukishima always looked at his dinosaur fascination as a bit of a guilty pleasure of his. The thought of anyone else (other than Yamaguchi) knowing that he had them almost made him feel embarrassed, he wasn’t sure why. But even Tsukishima knew that it probably wasn’t a good idea to bring anything that had a sentimental value to you with you to college, things get broken, lost, and stolen much easier that. But there was nothing stopping him from bringing them back with Kuroo to his apartment now. Kuroo might tease him about it, but at the end of the day, Kuroo was supportive and seemed generally interested in what Tsukishima liked. Hell, he already knew about Tsukishima’s dinosaur obsession, so much so that he bought him dinosaur things whenever they would go out.

“You were really quiet back there.” Tsukishima spoke softly as he started gathering them up and laying them out on the bed. He figured Kuroo was being quiet for a number of reasons today, anything from actually being nervous to meet his brother as his boyfriend for the first time, or because he knew that this was something that Tsukishima needed to do, not him, this was Tsukishima’s battle, so to speak. Though, like everything that had been happening around him recently, the solution was simple, and he had been worrying and freaking out over nothing, it was almost kind of like a big let down, but still very much relieving. 

“Well yeah. I didn’t want to say anything that you didn’t want me to say, I’m a good boyfriend like that.” And just like that, Kuroo was back to sounding like he always had, that Cheshire grin on his face as he started rummaging through Tsukishima’s drawers, and he had half a mind to tell him to stop going through his personal things, but when you’ve been sleeping with someone for as long as Tsukishima had been sleeping with Kuroo by this point, it almost made it feel like nothing was off limits. And it wasn’t like Tsukishima had anything that Kuroo couldn’t see in there.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” On second thought, maybe some things were off limits.

Tsukishima looked up with an annoyed expression on his face as Kuroo pulled a (sadly) familiar pair of dinosaur pajamas out of his drawers. They were bright green and even had a tail. Tsukishima didn’t even know what prompted him to buy them to begin with, well, that was the thing, he didn’t actually buy them, they were a gift from his brother. Outside of Yamaguchi, and now Kuroo, Akiteru had really only been the only other person to know what Tsukishima likes, so much so that when his brother would go off for trips somewhere he would come back with various dinosaur memorabilia. And sure, it was cute from time to time, and Tsukishima was thankful, but there was a certain embarrassment that came with owning something like this, and that was evident all over Tsukishima’s face right now.

“Put those away.” Tsukishima hurried over to the few feet away from him that Kuroo was, grabbing the pajamas out of his hand and shoving them back in the drawer. “Sheesh. You’re so troublesome today.” He wasn’t so much annoyed as he was embarrassed. Tsukishima didn’t remember what he had left in his room, and he was certain that bringing Kuroo to the place where he grew up was turning into a bad idea.

“What? I don’t even get a thank you?” Kuroo cooed, and Tsukishima could tell from the tone in his voice and the smirk on his face that he was enjoying this far too much.

“And what have you done exactly to deserve a ‘thank you’?”

“Aw, come on, don’t be so cold to your boyfriend, it’ll break his heart.” He could see Kuroo leaning over his shoulder behind him out of the corner of his eye, and it took everything in him not to release the longest sigh anyone has ever heard. 

“Hey.” Kuroo spoke up from behind him again. “So, this is where you grew up? My little Tsukki spent most of his high school days shut in inside this room?” His voice almost had a hushed, whispered tone to it, like he was trying to be seductive right now.

“Why are you making it sound like I stayed imprisoned here and never left the house?” Tsukishima voice sounded almost bored as he could feel Kuroo’s hands wrap tightly around him, and he could hear him chuckle in his ear. 

Though, Tsukishima to the best of his ability tried to block out what remained of his high school days, Kuroo wasn’t entirely wrong. He was an introvert even back then, with the only real thing he did outside of going to school was the volleyball club with Yamaguchi. To some extent you could say that that was like imprisonment. College was pretty much the same for Tsukishima, where all he did was go to classes, study, and then go back to his apartment, well, until he met Kuroo and everything changed for him.

Kuroo let go of Tsukishima as he made his way over to his bed, gently sliding the few dinosaur figures and plushes aside as he sat down on the upper end of it. It was like he was testing it, seeing if the bed could hold his weight, Tsukishima almost laughed at that, the bed was old, but it wasn’t to the point where it couldn’t still function properly.

He proceeded to lay down on it, relaxing his head on the pillow and placing his hands behind his head, smiling over at Tsukishima as if he was playing at something, that same provoking smirk on his face as he stuck out his tongue ever so slightly, like he was teasing him. Fortunately for Tsukishima, the bed was already pretty long thanks to his height, leaving at least a foot of room or more for Kuroo to stretch out on, and he crossed his legs as he kept his eyes on Tsukishima.

“Hey, Tsukki.” He called, with that playful tone in his voice. “Wanna… do it?” He paused intentionally as he spoke, Kuroo was a master of getting what he wanted, and this proved it. The way he knew he was a tease, like he was just begging for Tsukishima to come over there and kiss him, and if it wasn’t for the fact that he remembered where they were right now, he might actually have.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Tsukishima tried his best to hold back a smile and laughter as he spoke. “My brothers on the other side of this wall.” He gestured with his hand to the wall towards the left of them. It wasn’t just so much that the walls were thin in Tsukishima’s childhood home, but growing up with a family who was always on a budget meant that your home was in closer quarters than anyone was comfortable with. His brother and him were both pretty quiet, but even they had their days when Tsukishima felt insanely claustrophobic from this room alone.

As if the life had just been drained out of Kuroo, probably just from realization alone, his face almost turned paler than Tsukishima’s as he looked at him with a blank stare. “Right…” Was all he was able to mutter out as he sat up on the bed, a vague look of disappointment on his face as he did so. “Oh by the way, Tsukki, you remember a few weeks ago when you asked me about internship jobs where I work at?”

“Yeah, what about them?” The ‘internship jobs’ Kuroo was referring to was at the night Kuroo first took him to a business party with him, he said it was a few weeks ago, but it was more like a few months ago with how long it felt. 

At that party, Tsukishima mentioned something about a job when he saw someone who looked like they might be fresh out of college working for the company, he only said it out of basic conversation, but he wasn’t entirely kidding. When he first met Kuroo the thought crossed his mind that he must have some connections, and when the whole ‘sugar daddy’ thing was over and done that Kuroo could set him up with a job or something, not that Tsukishima still had an idea of what he wanted to do after graduation at the time, but an internship anywhere is a start.

“I know it’s a few months away, but during the summer we have several internship jobs opening up. It’s just basic entry-level stuff, being someone’s personal assistant or fetching coffee for a board room meeting, you’d have to work directly under me and report to, or well, me or Akaashi, you can take your pick, though, he can keep his cool a bit better than I can when something goes wrong. I just know that you mentioned it more as just a conversation piece, but it seemed to mean a lot to you, so I thought I would offer. After all, you’ve spent the better part of the past few months doing sexual favors for me, so I thought, why not return the favor?” Kuroo stood up off the bed, bringing Tsukishima in for an awkward side hug. 

Was this Kuroo’s way of him being nice? Well, he had seen him be nice before, he was his boyfriend now, after all. And from the very day they met, Kuroo tried to be nice to him, easing him into the whole ‘sugar daddy’ thing, Tsukishima hated to admit it, but Kuroo wasn’t the complete creepy asshole he pegged him as when they first met. He had a nice side to him too when he wanted to be nice, this side.

“Why? I mean thank you, but why?” If it wasn’t already completely obvious that Tsukishima wasn’t good at accepting gifts, accepting compliments, or accepting anything really good happening to him really, this proved it. Seriously, couldn’t he just say ‘thank you’ like a normal person? He always hated feeling like he was a burden on people, that was a problem he had towards the beginning of his ‘relationship’ with Kuroo, he didn’t want to feel like he was just using him for money, and he knew that Kuroo was only trying to help him with this, but he couldn’t justify it in his mind.

“Huh? What do you mean ‘why’? Because I love you, Tsukki, and if I can do something that will make you happy, then I’m going to do it. Like that one time I-“

“-Okay, you can stop there.” Tsukishima wiggled his way out of Kuroo’s grasp as he interrupted him. He didn’t even have to finish his thought, but Tsukishima knew exactly what kind of ‘thing’ he was about to mention. “How is it you can go from so mushy to so perverted in only a matter of seconds?” Seriously, Kuroo has a talent, a talent for being both creepy and cute at the same time, so cute in fact, that Tsukishima couldn’t help but feel the mushiness spreading onto him as he spoke again. “But I… love you too, okay?” His words were so hesitant as he spoke, and there was no doubt that his face was bright red again. 

Tsukishima hated being mushy like this, it made him feel vulnerable, a feeling that he never wanted to feel again, and he knew that look Kuroo would have on his face wouldn’t help at all. His eyes would get all wide and he would look at Tsukishima like he was the most precious, innocent thing ever, it was embarrassing, and it almost reminded him of his brother, but that still didn’t stop him from continuing. “Look, you wanted to go sightseeing, right? So, I’ll take you to the convenience store I used to shop at a lot, okay?” This was Tsukishima’s first and only attempt to ask Kuroo to go on a date with him, even if it was just to get him to stop being mushy. He was thankful for Kuroo, he just wasn’t that great at showing it.

As if Kuroo was a little kid, he smiled, beaming as he took Tsukishima’s hand, squeezing it lightly as he felt the warmth. “Okay, Tsukki. you say that I’m the one who’s acting mushy today, but I thank it’s actually you.”

“Sh-shut up. I’m not acting mushy, it’s all you. It’s your fault I’m acting this way, anyways.” Was Tsukishima flustered right now? Because that’s what he was feeling, his face still bright red as he averted his eyes with Kuroo, but he couldn’t hide the slight satisfaction in his voice as he spoke. 

He said it before, but his life never did turn out quite how he expected it would, and that was true even for something like this. When he thought about something like love and the future, he thought that he would just have a steady job, something like his father or his brother, and then he would marry someone, probably a girl, a few years after graduating college. He never would have thought that because he was desperate for money, unable to get a job because of that, and then pretty much forced to use a shady website where you have sex with someone long term for money that he would meet a guy like Kuroo, someone who he probably wouldn’t get along with under any other normal circumstances, but he met the person he loved because of it. He really did owe ‘The Lion’s Den’ thanks to that, maybe they should run a match making service instead of a sugar daddy service. But for the first time in his life, Tsukishima Kei felt happy, true happiness, and it was all thanks to a terribly made sex site.

“What’s the matter, Tsukki? Why are you smiling so much today? Not that I’m complaining, you’re cute when you smile.” Kuroo cooed in his ear as they headed for the door, those few dinosaur toys in a bag in tow with them.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, I was just thinking about it’s funny how we met through a sex site.”

Kuroo laughed at first, as if he understood exactly what Tsukishima was talking about. The more time they spent together, the better Kuroo got at understanding Tsukishima, understanding the way he smiled and knowing what he was thinking. “Well, it’s not that hard to believe. Bokuto and Akaashi met through being daddy and baby first, and Iwaizumi and Oikawa met in the same way we did.”

“I guess you’re right.” Tsukishima smiled subtly, holding tightly onto Kuroo’s hand. “Come on, let’s go, I don’t want us to be here when mom and dad get home soon.” Though Tsukishima knew one day he was going to have to introduce Kuroo to his parents, he didn’t want that day to be today, it felt like he already had been through an ordeal with just telling his brother, and he knew his mind couldn’t take any more stress right now.

“Okay.” Kuroo smiled, he seemed to be in good spirits today, more than usual. “Hey, Tsukki, let’s have strawberry cake for dinner tonight.”

“For dinner? Do you even know how to make something like that?”

Kuroo smiled again, planting a kiss on Tsukishima’s forehead. “It’s your favorite, so I think I’ll learn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm deeming this the last 'chapter' chapter of the story, the next chapter is just going to be an epilogue that will take place several months later, and it will probably be a bit shorter than every other chapter. I really debated for this story if I should have another major conflict, but I thought that one of the major problems for Tsukishima in this story was telling his parents, so I decided to just leave it at this. Someone also gave me the idea of Akiteru pretending to be innocent just for Tsukishima's sake, and I really liked that idea. I wasn't really sure how to go about writing this chapter since we get so little of Tsukishima's parents in the anime and manga, but I hope you guys still like this chapter.  
> As always, thank you guys so much for all the support on this story, the next chapter will be the last chapter, and I am looking forward to writing it.


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several months after the whole ordeal with his family, Tsukishima and Kuroo have a celebration party to celebrate Tsukishima joining the company, and Akaashi and Bokuto's engagement.

_Several months later_

“Tsukki! It’s been a long time!” Bokuto all but boasted as he entered the room, enveloping Tsukishima in a spine crushing hug, with Akaashi in two behind him, carrying what he assumed to be a box of more strawberry cake with him. He thought for a moment his spine was going to break from how tight Bokuto was hugging him, and it took everything in him not to mutter some painful noise from within as his body struggled to catch its breath. “And Akiteru, you’re here two?” Bokuto instantly moved on from Tsukishima and went over to his brother in a matter of seconds, embracing him in a hug not too unlike the one he just endured, as Akaashi was forced to look at him with those same apologetic eyes.

Where had the time gone? Tsukishima asked himself that question every day, even though he already knew the answer. It seemed like only yesterday they were celebrating him and Kuroo becoming ‘official’, and now more than six months had gone by. He was getting ready for the last summer before his final year in college, and starting a new job at that. Well, he didn’t know if anything would really come of this job, but several months ago when Kuroo mentioned it, he reluctantly took it.

He starts working directly under Akaashi next week. He thought about working under Kuroo, but Tsukishima wasn’t so keen on the idea of living and working with your significant other. He had seen one too many late-night reports about couples who have relationship problems from spending too much time together from living and working together. Plus, Tsukishima was one of those people who needed to mentally recharge himself from socializing too much, going to work was supposed to be a place where he could get away from Kuroo if he needed to. Though, they did promise to each other that they would eat lunch together every day, so it wasn’t like they were going to actually be apart. It was weird to say, but in a way, Tsukishima was actually looking forward to it. Strange.

Right now, I guess you could say they were sort of having a ‘beginning of summer’ party, one of the ones Tsukishima was used to, where they all would gather at Kuroo’s penthouse and drink until they pass out. Akaashi and Bokuto promised to bring treats this time, and Oikawa was bringing Iwaizumi too. They apparently had been keeping their relationship subtle for some time now, after Oikawa’s confession, but to his surprise, an athlete and a model do have a lot in common after all, and this was sort of Iwaizumi’s intonation into their inner circle. They even decided to invite Yamaguchi and Akiteru this time too. Though, for slightly different reasons, of course.

Right now, Oikawa and Iwaizumi hadn’t shown up yet, they were (fashionably) late as Oikawa said over text messages, which somehow made the room seem quieter than it normally would have been. Both Bokuto and Akaashi were over in the kitchen with Yamaguchi and Akiteru. Akaashi was placing the food he brought on the counter in there, as Bokuto and Akiteru laughed and joked about something that sounded like an old college story, as Yamaguchi tried to stay focused in on the conversation. It didn’t take long for Bokuto to warm up to him, saying ‘any friend of Tsukki’s is a friend of mine’, and wrapping him in one of his signature backbreaking hugs. Kuroo and Tsukishima stayed out of it, the two of them staying in the living room, sipping on glasses of wine as Kuroo kept his arm tightly wrapped around him without saying anything, almost like he was waiting for something to happen.

This was a bit more than just a normal party, sure, they were all probably going to get pretty wasted, and there was no doubt that Kuroo and Tsukishima would end up ‘retiring’ to a room not too long into the night. But there was more to it than that. This was also a celebration of an engagement, Bokuto’s and Akaashi’s to be exact.

Over the months that Tsukishima had known them, he had heard them talk on and off about engagement and being married for some time, and it was pretty clear that it was something that Akaashi wanted for the company, and Bokuto led on that it was something that he fantasized about, but the two of them always dismissed it as something they would be happy with or without and that would be the end of it. Until last week, that is.

When most people think about getting proposed to, they probably think of something extravagant, or at least, that what’s Tsukishima assumed Bokuto thought of, he was a pretty loud guy, and he assumed that Akaashi would do something just as loud to get his attention. Tsukishima and Kuroo weren’t even around at the time, but the way the story was told through their texting group was that Akaashi insisted on cooking dinner that night, something he only ever did for Bokuto’s birthday, and he spelt it out on the cake with Bokuto’s new plating chocolate recipe. Bokuto apparently started beaming with excitement when he saw it, and it was very romantic for them. Still no idea on a date yet, though.

“So Tsukki, you’re gonna be my maid of honor, right?” As if Bokuto just got done making small talk with Akiteru in the kitchen, he made his way back over to Kuroo and Tsukishima in the living room, with Akaashi tagging along behind him as if he was trying to keep his owl headed fiancé at bay. Even after all these months they all still looked the same, Bokuto with his muscles, Akaashi with his cool expression, and Kuroo with his bedhead, all three of them even still wearing those same dark black suits too. in a way, you could say that Tsukishima was finally used to all of this.

“Excuse me?” Tsukishima blinked his eyes as he looked at Bokuto with a confounded expression. He almost had a more formal tone as he spoke now, listening to the way Kuroo and Akaashi talked more and more. He didn’t know what the future held for him and Kuroo, but if he was going to be working with him and Akaashi from now on, he wanted to at least sound like someone who was capable.

“Well if Kuroo’s going to be Akaashi’s best man, it only makes sense that you, Kuroo’s boyfriend, is going to be my maid of honor.” It was amazing how someone like Bokuto had so much confidence about saying something like that in public, but there was no way in hell that he was being anyone’s maid of honor. Just now he got the worst image in his mind, one of Akaashi and Kuroo standing at some alter wearing suits, and Bokuto and himself walking down an aisle wearing dresses. It was terrible and Tsukishima wanted to burn his brain for even being able to come up with such an image.

“How did you come up with that logic?” Kuroo used his free hand to lightly jab Bokuto in the side, closing his eyes and smiling as the two of them went on and started talking about how it would be the ‘perfect wedding’. Still to this day there were moments where Tsukishima wondered why he even still hung out with these people.

“Sorry about him, Tsukishima.” There Akaashi went again, apologizing for his now fiancé. It was almost admiring how he still had a smile on his through all of this. And for a moment Tsukishima almost felt bad for him, he could barely handle Bokuto as is, but Akaashi was now going to be the one spending the rest of his life with him. How did he do it?

“It’s fine.” Tsukishima sighed, by now he was used to dealing with Bokuto’s antics, and as he looked at him and Kuroo together, his mind immediately threw out any thoughts of confusion and curiosity. “I should say congratulations to you, by the way. We haven’t exactly spoken since the engagement.” When it came down to the people that were in his direct circle of friends, it was almost amazing that Tsukishima even had people that he could even call his friends now, Akaashi was the one who he felt the most comfortable around (outside of Yamaguchi). Maybe it was just his naturally calm personality, but Akaashi was just the kind of person you felt comfortable opening up to. He even gave Tsukishima some helpful relationship advice in the past, and he probably wouldn’t have still been with Kuroo if it wasn’t for him.

“Thank you.” Akaashi nodded, a grateful smile on his as he did so. “We’ll be seeing a lot of each other soon, so I think that-“

“Tsukki!” Bokuto snapped up again, interrupting them. “Are you looking forward to working under my Keiji?” Bokuto was boasting like a proud parent again as he wrapped an arm around Akaashi, not giving anyone else room to talk or breathe. “Don’t worry, he probably won’t go too hard on you the first day, but if you ever need a break from Kuroo and want to rant about him, I’m all ears. I always bring Akaashi lunch on most days so we’ll still be seeing a lot of each other.” Bokuto leaned in and kissed Akaashi on the cheek as he finished. Was this seriously the kind of ‘loving wife material’ that Kuroo expected Tsukishima to act out? Because he was certain his body wasn’t even that capable of being that disgustingly cute.

Over the course of the past few months, Tsukishima did end up grower closer and closer to Bokuto though. it started out as pure boredom, whenever Kuroo would have to go into the office for an all day meeting, Bokuto would call him up, asking him if he wanted to come over. It usually worked out that whenever Kuroo was in a meeting, Akaashi was in there too, something about the two of them being the future heads of the company and all. Nothing much would happen when it started out, Bokuto would just boast about Akaashi and Tsukishima would take any little information he could learn about Kuroo and the company at the time. It kind of felt like one of those days when Yamaguchi or his brother would force Tsukishima out of the house from time to time, telling him that they were worried he was going to become a shut-in.

But over the weeks and months, he started learning things about Bokuto, and learning things from him. He really did love to cook, and he would always ask Tsukishima to help him, and he aversely would, he even picked up a handful of recipes from him. So much so that it was now a part of his morning routine to wake up before Kuroo just to make the muffins that he liked so much. Part of him hating doing this, being domestic for Kuroo was something he never envisioned when all of this started, but another part of him didn’t mind it, he loved seeing the smile on his face in the morning, along with those sleepy eyes and that bedhead as they would eat breakfast together before Kuroo would leave for work. Maybe, just maybe, he was the domestic type after all.

“Sorry we’re late.” Again, with the perfect timing that was Tsukishima’s life. Oikawa and Iwaizumi busted in through the door, the both of them panting as if they just ran here, actually, given that Iwaizumi was an athlete, they might have.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.” Kuroo teased as the two of them joined them over by the couch, forming a complete circle as they all stood so closely together.

“Wouldn’t that be you?” Oikawa had a strut about him as he walked toward Kuroo, with Iwaizumi only a few inches behind him, he looked almost shy as his eyes wandered around the room, observing everyone’s faces. Though, this would be the first time meeting everyone here after he learned the truth, he was probably on guard and more cautious than normal. Did athletes spend a lot of time around business people?

“Now, now, don’t get hasty. Aren’t you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?” Even after all this time had passed, Kuroo still had a way of pushing people’s buttons, he was like a little kid, the way he smirked and crossed his arms like he was proud of something. Though, Kuroo never provoked anyone as badly as he provoked Tsukishima, and that was always evident no matter where they went.

Oikawa sighed, not as if he was reluctant to do something, but as if he was giving up to Kuroo, it was like he was telling him ‘fine, you win’ as he rolled his eyes. Oikawa did mention before that the two of them were very much into provoking people, one could even say that they sort of had a friendly rivalry going on, surrendering to Kuroo as he looked at the man behind him.

“Iwa-chan, you remember Tsukki and Kuroo? Or as I like to call them ‘how does the tall, snarky one deal with this pain in the ass.’” Oikawa sneered slightly as he signaled towards them, and Kuroo pretended to be wounded, as if he was acting. Tsukishima thought Kuroo was going to retort with one of his usual joking quips, but he didn’t, he just let Oikawa continue. “Next to them is Bokuto and Akaashi, Bokuto’s the one with the crazy hair. The two of them just got engaged, so this party is technically for them.”

“Hey!” Bokuto gave a friendly wave over to Iwaizumi, a lot like how he gave a friendly wave to Tsukishima on the day he met him too, and Bokuto somehow didn’t take offense to what Tsukishima assumed was another friendly insult from Oikawa.

“And over in the kitchen we have Yamaguchi, one of Tsukki’s college friends, he’s the one with the freckles….”

“And the other one is Akiteru, Tsukki’s older brother.” Kuroo chimed in, and Tsukishima remembered this would technically be his first time meeting him. He half wondered how his brother would fair against meeting a professional model and a professional athlete for the first time. Well, his brother did use to play sports, so he was certain Iwaizumi and him could at least talk about that. Not that he really wanted to concern himself with his brother right now. Things had been going well for him, but he still felt a little uneasy with Akiteru and Kuroo being in the same room.

“Ah, right.” Oikawa nodded, as if he just remembered they mentioned they were inviting him to this. Though, it was really Bokuto’s idea, since him and Akiteru were old classmates, and Tsukishima still wasn’t completely comfortable with any of his family members being around Kuroo.

It wasn’t like he had anything to hide, or was ashamed of Kuroo in any way, but it always felt like his parents were judging him and Kuroo together. Sure, they broke the ice to them slowly, having Kuroo over for dinner and some holidays a handful of times, they did their best to ease Tsukishima’s family into this life style, with both their relationship and Kuroo’s money. Only eight months ago, Tsukishima was just a broke college kid with very conservative parents, and the thought of someone being gay completely repulsed them. It was only understanding that it would take them time to get used to this. They were supportive, but every time the two of them would go over for dinner, they would be bombarded with questions about ‘what Kuroo’s work life was like?’, and ‘how Tsukishima was doing in living such a big penthouse?’. It was nice that they cared, but sometimes Tsukishima really wished they would stop worrying about him so much, he was fine now. He was more than fine. He was an adult anyway, so if he was going to make any mistakes, they should be his mistakes to make. He shouldn’t be worrying about this right now, and they shouldn’t be worrying about him either.

“Hello.” Iwaizumi almost seemed too friendly as he gestured politely towards everyone, he was probably nervous, and this was most likely his first time meeting a bunch of people in stuffy business suits, outside of the handful of promotional ads he’s probably been in for basketball.

Just like Tsukishima, Oikawa had a good sense of his surroundings. He could easily pick up on how uncertain Iwaizumi was right now, instantly grabbing a hold of his arm and leading him into the kitchen, muttering a ‘come, Iwa-chan, let’s get some drinks, the party will liven up now that I’m here’. As big of an ego as ever. It really was amazing how he could make the serious looking Iwaizumi feel at ease, then again, the two of them seemed to be very happy together, maybe it was Iwaizumi who put Oikawa at ease. They seemed like the opposite of Bokuto and Akaashi, where they weren’t affectionate at all in public.

“He seems to be adjusting well to all of this.” Kuroo spoke softly, keeping his voice low as he looked over towards Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s direction. The two of them in the kitchen getting something to drink, probably alcohol, from the looks of it.

“Well, he was Oikawa’s ‘daddy’ for a while, he sort of fits in here.” Once again, Tsukishima cringed at the use of the word ‘daddy’, even after all he had been through, he still hated that word. In his mind the only time it was even acceptable to use a word like that was when it was a little kid referring to their father, a grown man calling another grown man ‘daddy’, it just sounded weird and gross. But as they say, everyone has a fetish of some kind. Tsukishima was thankful that after him and Kuroo started dating that he never had to utter that word again, even as a joke, though he was pretty sure that Kuroo felt a different way entirely when it came to something like that. Though, he didn’t have the courage right now to get on to that topic of conversation. He planned on just keeping quiet for most of the rest of the evening.

“Hm.” Kuroo hummed lightly, keeping his hand wrapped tightly around Tsukishima’s shoulder as he whispered in his ear. “Hey Tsukki, wanna fuck?” His voice had that usual ‘trying to be seductive’ ring to it, it was a sound Tsukishima picked up on since the first day of meeting Kuroo, but it still never ceased to surprise him. Even though Kuroo was getting older, though not that much older, he was well passed twenty-four by this point, but he still made the same old passes at Tsukishima, it was almost refreshing to see that he hadn’t changed at all.

On the subject of him being twenty-four, Kuroo’s birthday had been a few months ago, and Tsukishima didn’t even know how to begin about doing something about it. What do you get someone who has everything? He already made a big deal about asking Kuroo when his birthday was, so he knew that he had to do something for him. He even sought after the help of Bokuto and Akaashi, asking them to teach him how to bake for the first time.

In the end, he couldn’t do anything for Kuroo, he made him a cake that was a mixture of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, since he wasn’t sure what flavor was Kuroo’s favorite, that just goes to show how little he knew about him at the time. Kuroo seemed to like it nonetheless, but when he got home from work he insisted that Tsukishima didn’t need to do anything. It was probably the only day in his life that Tsukishima felt truly ashamed. Of course, that feeling only lasted for a moment though, it being Kuroo’s birthday and all, he did have one request, not that it was difficult to guess what that request was. Sure, it wasn’t that different from a normal night for them, but Kuroo seemed to enjoy it, and somehow that made Tsukishima happy, even just a little bit. He could still see that smug smirk on Kuroo’s face whenever he closed his eyes. There was always something about making Kuroo happy that made him happy.

“Are you sure you want to do that? My brother’s right over there, you know?” Tsukishima was pretty sure he used that line once before when they were with his brother as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to do it right now, but Tsukishima still found himself feeling apprehensive around his family. They had long accepted his relationship with Kuroo by this point, but he still felt like he was treading lightly, and he knew they still had a long way to go before they would be able to talk about something like this so freely without feeling awkward. But then again, did anyone ever feel comfortable talking about sex and their family in the same sentence?

“He knows we’re dating.” Despite Tsukishima’s somewhat of a retort, that didn’t seem to phase Kuroo at all, like as soon as he made up his mind about something it was impossible to change it, he knew that already, it was one thing he learned on the day he first met Kuroo, but still.

“So, you’re telling me you’d be okay with him wondering where we went, looking in a room randomly, opening and door, and seeing the two of us naked, on top of each other?” Maybe it was just because Tsukishima didn’t like the use of the word ‘no’ when it came to Kuroo, but more often than not he found himself beating around the bush, trying to change and avoid the subject until Kuroo just forgot about it. He knew that he could be easily persuaded, all Kuroo would have to do was a plant a few kisses on the back of his neck and this conversation would instantly be over. Though, that still didn’t stop the forced, disinterested tone in his voice as he spoke.

“Hm.” Kuroo hummed again, tightening his grip on Tsukishima as he planted a gentle kiss on his exposed neck. His hands felt firm as he could feel is nails lightly pressing against his always sensitive skin. The subtle tone in his voice seemed to indicate that he was not giving up and changing the subject. “Tsukki, I love you.” He whispered, and Tsukishima knew he could feel his face turn bright red as he listened to him, forcing himself to not face him. Kuroo could be so embarrassing when he got sentimental like this.

Ever since they started dating, Kuroo got mushier and mushier as time went on, it was almost to the levels of Bokuto and Akaashi gross. He was always right there when Tsukishima would wake up, there to drop him off and pick him up from university, always sitting by him when he would do his homework, he never left him alone, it was so gross. Kuroo even got to the point where he started learning cooking so he could make Tsukishima breakfast in the morning, because one day Tsukishima let it slip that he might actually eat more if the food came from Kuroo, and the rest was history. Of course, that only happened in the rare instances of Kuroo waking up before Tsukishima, so it was pretty much only limited to the weekends, but it was still something he didn’t think he could ever get used to. Kuroo even slowly starting becoming on the same domestic levels as Bokuto, even telling Tsukishima that he borrowed a few recipes from him one day. Was this really what his life was going to be like now?

But Tsukishima didn’t seem to care about that, even finding himself enjoying it and looking forward to the smell of food when Kuroo would wake him up in the morning, he loved it, and he loved Kuroo too. And at times he needed to remind himself that he needed to be just as mushy as Kuroo was to him. Even through all these months, Tsukishima was still learning that he was terrible at communicating his feelings, he knew Kuroo knew him pretty well by this point, and that they were similar, but Kuroo couldn’t read his mind, if something was bothering him, then he needed to tell him. And more importantly, if he wanted Kuroo to know how he felt, he needed to express that to him in any way he could, not just with subtle nods and silent groans.

It still had only been a few months, but Tsukishima knew that he wasn’t going away any time soon. He still had another year of school, which hopefully wouldn’t be very demanding, he was starting his first real job soon working under Akaashi, and he would hopefully be getting to spend a lot more time with Kuroo because of that. he had nothing to worry about, and sure, maybe he had changed quite a bit over these past few months, but he was happy about it, and he was happy to be with Kuroo. And it was all because of some shady website he tried out just to get some money. It was almost funny if you think about that way.

Tsukishima tilted his head to the side, realizing he needed to say something before someone else walked over to where they were at, reaching down and squeezing one of Kuroo’s hands as he whispered softly back into his ear, this time letting the words roll off of his tongue free of that once worried anxiety. He had said and thought it before, but he was truly happy now. “Kuroo, I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, here it is, the final chapter, I'm going to try not to make the notes on this chapter be super long, but that might be impossible for me haha. Anyways, thank you guys so much for all the support on this story on here and on my tumblr, I didn't think this story would do nearly as well as it did, and I'm honestly surprised when I log on and see the kudos and hits sometimes, so thank you so much. This story was very fun to write and is probably one of my favorite things I've ever written, I know the sexual-ness for this story did sort of die down about half way through, and there were a lot of parts I was really unsure about writing, but I'm still really happy with how everything turned out.  
> As far as what I'm doing next, I may write a short BokuAka story that is sort of a prequel to this, telling the story of how they met and got together. I do want to give them a bit more love, since they were the only couple in this that didn't really have an arc of some kind, but I'm not really sure if anyone would be interested in reading that. Other than that, I actually have been working on another kurotsuki story slowly over the past month or so, and I'm really excited to start posting that soon as well.  
> Anyway, I'll try to wrap this up quickly now, I know I said it already, but thank you guys so much for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it even if it was just a little bit. And I'm excited to work on writing more Haikyuu!! stories in the future. :)


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